Conflict
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: The Akatsuki has a new leader and she is trouble! She overthrew the last leader, and now she is on a rampage against Konoha. What is her grudge against Leaf? And why is she obsessed with Kakashi? Pairings I can't tell you because that would kill it...
1. Prologue

Prologue

The flash of red and black drew Itachi's attention to his apartment door.

"Hello, Yasu," he said quietly, not bothering to turn to the newest Akatsuki member.

"Report ANBU," she said sarcastically, throwing open her Akatsuki cloak. Itachi glanced up at her; black halter top, long, wide-legged black pants, shuriken holster, kunai pouch, and sandals, cut to reveal her purple-painted toe nails. Yasu stepped towards him, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. Itachi rose from the couch he had just been laying on. He finally faced Yasu full in the face, then dropped into a deep, respectful bow. He rose just as quickly though; although Yasu had easily overthrown the former leader of the Akatsuki, Itachi could have done so just as easily. He recognized her as his leader, but for the most part he recognized her as his equal. Rising, he began his report.

"Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, and I found another Konoha ANBU. Naturally, we captured him and brought him back here. We knew you'd want to…_interrogate_ him, let's say, so we tried to leave him as unharmed as possible. However, he's a nasty one. We had to hit him several times in order to keep him in line. He obtained a few scratched and bruises, but noth9ing major besides chakra depletion, exhaustion, and minor dehydration. We left him some water and something to eat, but I doubt he'll touch it."

"Hmm…" Yasu's Byakugan/Sharingan eyes slowly drifted downwards. She rested her pale hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. Itachi's sensitive ears picked up the sound of the lock clicking, then of the slight creak and roan of wood as Yasu swung the door open. Her sandaled feet made no sound on the carpeted floor as she stepped out into the dimly lit hallway and waited off to the side for Itachi. As Itachi stepped out and locked the door behind him, Yasu asked him in a flat, neutral tone:

"Who is he?"

Itachi paused, and then flicked his black hair over his shoulder with a soft swish of silk.

"Hatake Kakashi."


	2. Chapter 1:Trapped

Chapter 1

At first, Yasu was stunned. She simply stood there for a moment, staring at Itachi. Itachi returned the stare, blood red on speckled white. Finally, Yasu laughed. Her eyes danced as she said,

"Itachi, please! _Capture_ the Copy Ninja? You know he'd suicide before we could do anything to him-"

Now it was Itachi's turn to laugh. "You don't know him, do you? Or were you not listening?"

Yasu abruptly fell silent. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips and making sure to invade Itachi's personal space. "Challenging me, Itachi?"

"Not at all, Yasu-sama," Itachi said smoothly. "As I said earlier, Kakashi is suffering from chakra depletion and exhaustion. He could barely move when I last saw him, and he'll probably be unable to walk for about a week. And besides, you _must_ know about his "issues." He can't ever leave a teammate in the lurch, so as long as he knows that there are people searching for him, he'll stay; for their sake."

Yasu smiled. "So we have him right where we want him."

Itachi shrugged. "In so many words." They started walking down the halls, no particular destination in Itachi's mind. He would follow Yasu; she probably wanted him to anyway.

"Where to?" he asked lazily, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm getting a look at the Hatake," she said absently. I want to know what kind of condition he's in, and what needs to be done with him."

Itachi shrugged. "I'll follow you."

Yasu was surprised when she opened the door. Kakashi was still fighting the chains that held him, and he was beginning to wear them down. Unfortunately, his own body was in far worse condition than his bonds, and he was fighting a losing battle. His wrists and ankles were bleeding, and it looked as if he was at the point of collapse. His ANBU clothes were soaked with sweat, and it was mixing with the blood pouring from various cuts, abrasions, and burst capillaries all over Kakashi's body. Yasu coughed as the first wave of dank air hit her nostrils. Combined with the stench of body odor and the pungent scent of blood, the smell was overpowering.

"Aw, _damn!"_ Yasu muttered, holding her cloak sleeve over her nose and mouth.

"Won't help," Kakashi grunted, hauling on the chains again. "Might even…make it…worse…_Agh."_ He collapsed to his knees, simply spent. The Sharingan over his left eye burning like hell-fire with a murderous hatred, swirling like a power drill and boring right through Yasu's defenses, driving down into her soul, coiling around it-

Yasu stepped forward, breaking Kakashi's spell. Kakashi froze, unsure of what to do. Finally, he threw his weight forward, using his momentum to heave himself to his feet. He swayed a bit, then regained his balance and lifted his head, looking Yasu in the eye again. His chest heaved with the effort of standing. Yasu watched, amused, as he brought his eyes to hers again, silver hair falling about his face, mask clinging to his face with sweat. A low growl rose in his throat: a warning to keep away from him.

"So proud," Yasu murmured, stepping forward. Her footsteps echoed eerily off the stone walls and resounded in the condensing air. Sweat was beginning to shine on both Yasu's and Itachi's bodies, and the heat was growing more and more oppressive every minute. It was also getting hard to breathe.

"Why won't you quiet?"

"I belong to no one," Kakashi panted, still trying to stand. "I submit to no one, I bow to no one, I break for no one, I _am_ no one's. No one shall own me, possess me, and hold me against my will. That's how I survived all this time: by allowing no one to touch me, and by never belonging to anyone. _I am no one's property."_

Yasu smiled, Sharingan beginning to spin. "I do."

"Perhaps I wasn't clear." Kakashi hoped that his fear didn't show; he was trying to sound aggressive, but he currently doubted his efforts. The smell was slowly fading from the air. It was either that, or Yasu had gotten used to it. She smiled again and took another step towards Kakashi. Kakashi mirrored her, stepping back to her forward. Yasu kept advancing; he couldn't back forever! Sure enough, with every step they took, Kakashi's grew shorter and Yasu's grew longer. Itachi shifted from one foot to the other in impatience: how long could they keep this up? Kakashi's steps were limited, and Yasu was matching him-

A sharp intake of breath drew Itachi's attention to Kakashi. The jounin had finally hit the wall, and was now pushing himself back, as if trying to fuse into the damp concrete. Yasu smirked one final time, placing her hands on either side of Kakashi's shoulders. Itachi's eyes flickered over the pair, then to his left, and finally his right. He caught a glimpse of a chakra signature slightly behind him and over his right shoulder. He recognized it almost immediately; an orange flare. Itachi sighed. He was used to his former leader skulking around, but he didn't really want him here. He knew his former leader wanted Kakashi for himself, and Itachi had never been good at sharing.

"Come on," Yasu said sharply. Itachi looked back to Yasu: she was unlocking the chains on Kakashi's wrists and ankles and was throwing them aside, not caring about the loud echo that was beginning to hurt Itachi's ears. Yasu cast aside the final chain, and, without skipping a beat, picked up Kakashi. Itachi was hardly surprised: the shine of charka along Yasu's arms told all. She brushed past Itachi with a short, "Let's go" and continued walking. Itachi simply shook his head and started off after her without saying a word.

"What are you going to do with him?"

Yasu turned to face Itachi. "Clean him up, send Konoha a little note, and see what happens."

Itachi shrugged and continued digging through his cabinet for a roll of bandages. "What if Konoha's reaction is hostile?" he asked absently, as if pondering the thought. "You know as well as I that we may need-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Yasu snapped, snatching the newly-found bandages and stalking off. Itachi sighed and picked up a small basin of water he had filled up not too long ago. He may as well help Yasu with Kakashi: he wanted the Copy Ninja to trust him, simply so he could make life more difficult for him in the future.

**A/N: Ooooo, nasty little cliffy I'm leaving you all with! Oh, well. You all know the rules: one review, or noooooo next chapter! Thanks!!!**


	3. Chapter 2:Illusions

Chapter 2 

As Yasu approached Kakashi, she could see the pure hatred in his eyes. The binding jutsu she had placed on him was clearly aggravating him. Yasu smirked and set down the bandages on the small table next to the bed.

"If I release you, will you hold still?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Kakashi's head. "Or do I have to sedate you?"

Kakashi sighed. "It's not like I could actually _do_ anything."

"Fine then," Yasu said smoothly. She fitted her hands into the sign of the tiger and quickly released the jutsu. Almost immediately, Kakashi turned onto his side, fully facing Yasu. At the same time, Yasu let her hand fall to Kakashi's hair and she began gently stroking it. Kakashi's initial reaction was to recoil, and he slowly did so. Yasu sighed.

"I should have known," she said, "That you wouldn't trust me. Shame." She looked up as Itachi entered the room and sat on the other side of Kakashi. Kakashi simply turned onto his stomach, not particularly caring what they did to him anymore.

The first touch of icy water stung.

Kakashi's muscles tightened and he carefully drew back. Yasu gently placed her hands on Kakashi's shoulders, stilling his movement. "Quiet," she said softly, caressing the rock hard muscles in Kakashi's overworked shoulders. "We're trying to help you." Kakashi could feel the cold water running over his milky white skin, slowly erasing the traces of the dark red that had been staining it just a minute ago. Yasu continued running her hands over Kakashi's body, taking note of his physical features.

_Excellent build, _she thought, slowly appraising Kakashi. _Built to endure. Perfect; nothing less. Beautiful structure, everywhere. Flawless symmetry, minimal scarring, considering the work he does…_She frowned and moved even more slowly, taking in every tiny detail. _I have to get him out of Konoha's hands. They possess too much in their possession of him. And if I am forced to relinquish him, I want a lot in return. The Akatsuki is getting weaker and weaker as we go along; we need power like his._

"Lady Yasu."

"Hm?"

Yasu looked up, somewhat startled at Itachi's voice. "What?"

Itachi smirked. "For an S-ranked criminal who overthrew the leader of the Akatsuki without breaking a sweat, you have a gentle touch." Itachi gestured to Kakashi. "He's asleep."

Yasu looked down, surprised. She focused the Byakugan half of her eyes, trying to see what she had done. Her eyes retraced the path of her hands, searching just as carefully as before.

"I kept hitting relaxing points on his body, I guess," she said, shrugging it off. Itachi shook his head and finished wrapping Kakashi's arm in bandages.

"I think he'll be fine with this, but if it won't suffice, here are the bandages," he said, tying the final knot.

"Where are you headed?" Yasu asked, reaching across Kakashi's back for the bandages.

"Training," Itachi replied smoothly. "I managed to scare everyone off for an hour or so."

Yasu simply sat there for a moment, still stroking Kakashi and taking him in. There was so much to see; he was perfect in every way! She didn't want to wake him, not yet. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping, like he could never do anything wrong and never had. And he was simply mesmerizing to watch. His chest slowly rose and fell with every drawn breath, and every now and then he would shift his weight. Yasu continued stroking Kakashi possessively, reflecting on what he had said earlier.

I belong to no one… I submit to no one… 

_I am no one's._

And Yasu had replied, _"You're mine. You belong to me. You're my property. Accept that, and life will be so much less difficult for you."_

He had told her again, _"That is how I survived: by allowing no one to possess me, to own me, to claim me and to dominate me. One does not survive simply by existing for the sake of other's will; no, we exist for something, whatever it may be, but it cannot be for another's will, because when they do not want you, what happens?"_

Yasu had not been able to answer.

"_Exactly."_

Kakashi's next shift of weight brought Yasu's attention back to him. She carefully lifted him into her arms, hoping that she could steal one more moment with him. She could feel him waking up, and she knew that once he did, she wouldn't be able to control him. He held him to her chest and waited. If he woke up in her arms, he might start to trust her.

"You're crazy if you expect me to trust you."

Yasu looked down, hardly surprised. She was beginning to get used to Kakashi's surprises, and she was also beginning to like them. Kakashi's eyes were closed, and he had pressed his face into her shoulder. "And I'm not submitting to you; I just know that you're not going to let me go."

"Make it easy on us both, Kakashi," Yasu said warningly. She held him at arm's length, trying to read his face. But the only expression he wore was one of bland disinterest that said he didn't really care anymore.

"I thought I was making it easy on you," Kakashi muttered, avoiding her eyes. "I have yet to protest the unfairness of the situation and start begging you to let me go home, despite the fact that that's the only thing I want right now. I have yet to tell you what faggots you all are, and what nasty traitors and horrible assholes you are to hold me here against my will. But hey; how can I, when you can take my life at any moment? How can I, when you force me to bow to your will? How can I, when all you ever wanted was to possess me, to own me, to claim me, to dominate me, and to show me that free will is an illusion, and love is nothing but a waste of time? How can I, when all every whore here ever wanted was the chance to get at me in bed? How can I, when all everyone here wanted was me, and sex?"

"Is that what you think I want?" Yasu asked, surprised. "You think that we brought you here just to rape you?"

"It's what Itachi brought me here for." Kakashi's bitter voice struck like a knife at Yasu's heart. _Itachi? Well, he is notorious for getting what he wants by force, and without scruples, but still…that's a little too far, especially if he went through with it and Kakashi was unwilling._

"Did he actually-?"

Kakashi nodded, still stubbornly refusing to meet Yasu's eyes. Yasu slid her hand under his chin and lifted it, forcing Kakashi to look her in the face.

"You told him no?"

Kakashi yanked his head free and nodded again. Yasu sighed. If he wanted to get away so badly, she may as well let him. Kakashi didn't even move much as she released him; he just laid down next to her and turned onto his other side, turning his back on her. Yasu sighed and stood. She may as well let him sleep, and from the looks of it, he was ready to sleep for days.

**A/N: Hehehe, I left you hanging! What's Kakashi going to do? You know it's something…so hit the review button to find out! This time, I want TWO reviews. Not hard, people! This is what you get for making this almost a hundred hits and the most reviews!**


	4. Chapter 3:Running

**A/N: Well, you've all been good, meeting my demands for reviews and all. So here's the next chapter. Feel free to message me with ideas or anything, and I might put it in. No guarantees, but if your ideas get in, I will credit you for the idea… Some of you were wondering about the pairings and romance in this, so I will tell you. Romance will come in later chapters, but the pairings I cannot give you because that would kill the whole thing…and, that's all! Thank you, everyone, and enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Kakashi knew he had fooled her. He had done this before; pretending to be asleep so his enemies would leave him alone for long enough to make an escape. It had never failed him. He listened intently for Yasu's footsteps to fade, heart beginning to speed up from the anxiety of waiting so long in such a nerve-wracking situation. After what was an eternity to Kakashi, he heard the comforting click of the lock turning. The second Kakashi heard this, he threw back the covers, jumped off the bed, and grabbed his clothes. He used his chakra to move quickly without pain. He snatched a cloak from a chair in the corner, threw it over his shoulders, and strode to the window. Not surprisingly, it opened easily with a twist of chakra.

"Remind me, Yasu," he murmured into empty air, "That I owe you some love." He jumped out the window, landing carefully on the ground. He broke into a run almost immediately, valuing speed over stealth. They would notice he was gone soon, and he needed as much distance as he could get.

OOOOOOOOO

"What do you mean he's missing?!"

Asuma and Kurenai were standing in front of Tsunade, trying to explain to her what had happened.

"We tried to go after him, but Itachi just took him away while the other one held us off!" Kurenai cried. "And when we finally came to, did you really expect us to find him?"

Tsunade slowly sank down into her chair, covering her pale face with her hands. Only then did Kurenai notice the dark circles under Tsunade's eyes, and the tired expression on her face. Her usually neat blonde hair was coming out of the ties around it and falling into Tsunade's face, half-covering her milky brown eyes. "Sorry," she murmured into her palms.

Asuma shook his head. "First of all, you shouldn't be apologizing. It's no one's fault. Second of all, we know and understand the stress you are under as Hokage of the Leaf, and how chaotic it must be to keep going and pick up all the pieces, but there isn't much time for Kakashi. The Akatsuki has a new leader, and she seems to get pretty close to you in power. She says that the Akatsuki is getting weaker, and that they need power; power that possession of Kakashi can give them, be it as a hostage or anything else. And if she does what I think she's going to do, then Kakashi will be lost forever. He'll be completely bound to the new leader, and only she can release him from his bonds."

Tsuande looked up. "Sh-She's-"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Asuma continued grimly. "She's already threatened to use the Slave Curse on Kakashi, and if she goes through with it there's absolutely no hope at all for him. I doubt all the Kages put together could break that jutsu."

Tsunade jumped to her feet. If things were as bad as Aasuma said, then she had better get moving; fast! "Kurenai, select the strongest ninja in the village and form a search party. Asuma, get a map that contains both Konoha and Akatsuki territory, all of it. Plan a strategy to invade if necessary. Get the ANBU black ops. Leave squads eight and ten and bring the rest to me. Kurenai, also get the Twelve Elite, they're coming with me as my personal guards. First person done gets to find Team Seven and Iruka and inform them, they'll want to know. And include Gai in the search. He and Iruka are Kakashi's best friends; they'll want to come along. Team Seven and Kakashi have grown pretty close in the past few years; they'll want to come as well. Go!"

"Right away!" The two jounin both took off to do as they were told; Asuma for the library, Kurenai for the ninja headquarters, where she knew a lot of ninja would be lounging. She could gather who she could from there. She knew to include Gai and his team; she would have even if the Hokage had not requested it. Then she would go to her own team. Both were very good teams, and she had confidence in them. _The I'll see who I can get from the Hyuuga clan, and I'll find out if Ruika's around…_Ruika was Kurenai's best female friend, and she and Kakashi and Asuma had shared many great times together. Often Tsunade made an exception for the group and let them go on missions as a four-some, simply because they worked so well together. Ruika was also extremely powerful; she was a jinchuuri, sealed with the three-tailed Wolf. Her power was beyond jounin, but not enough to qualify for a sannin. _She may be on a mission, tough, _Kurenai thought. _I hope not…but then again, she may not be, because she just took an S-rank a day or two ago, she might want to-_

BAM!!!!!!

Kurenai slammed into another kuniochi, one who was careening down the halls as swiftly as Kurenai herself. A young girl with long, silvery hair and stormy gray eyes, exactly like Kakashi's- "Ruika!" Kurenai exclaimed, climbing to her feet.

"Something tells me you were looking for me," Ruika said dryly, picking herself up and brushing herself off. "What?"

"Need you for a search," Kurenai started.

Ruika nodded comprehensively. "Say no more."

"You heard?" Kurenai asked, only mildly surprised. Ruika had a tendency to learn things quickly; including picking things up even faster than her chakra-enhanced nose could pick up the scent of a donkey in August.

Ruika nodded again. "And I suspected. I hadn't seen Kakashi, and when I tried the White Fang on that S-rank two days ago I could hardly feel him." Kurenai's eyes widened. Ruika was Kakashi's half-sister, and his closest living relative. If she couldn't find him, no one could.

"Can you find him now?"

"Once his chakra returns it will be much easier," Ruika said. "It's been several days, so as long as he's not being suppressed, drained, or he hasn't been drugged, it will be very easy."

Kurenai sighed. "But can you find him _now_?"

Ruika shrugged. "I can try." She closed her eyes and sank into her chakra, searching for her half-brother's blood. "Come on, baby brother," she muttered. "Come on, you, where the hell could you be? Don't tell me they hurt you-I'll have to wring their necks." Kurenai waited nervously, chewing on a hangnail. It helped Ruika to try to talk to her brother, so she let her keep going. The anxiety was beginning to get to her, and she imagined the worst. What if Kakashi was hurt so badly he would never be a shinobi again? What if he was being tortured? What if Ruika couldn't find him? What if…no, not Kakashi! If they had killed him, or raped him, or anything of the sort, Kurenai swore on her mother's grave at that moment that if such a thing had happened, she would kill anyone who dared cross her path.

Ruika's eyes snapped open.

"I found him!" she cried. "He's alarmingly close. The Akatsuki have been sitting just about under our nose the whole time, and even though they hold territory close to us, we though they were up by the snow country. As a matter of fact, they're _very_ close! Right up by the river; Namida, I believe it's called. The waterfall behind it is the Veil of Tears, so the river is named after it. It's only a couple miles from here! If we hurry we can make it by tomorrow. Go tell Tsuande-sama now! I'll take care of the search!" Kurenai shook her head. "No, you tell her. I already know who I want for the search. You tell her, I'll find everybody I want and meet you back in Tsuande-sama's office." Ruika nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kurenai sighed and picked up her run again. _Please, Kakashi-hold on! _

OOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi kept jumping from tree limb to tree limb, cursing himself for his stupidity. _I used too much chakra,_ he thought. _Now my signature is getting weaker and weaker, and my body's getting weak as well, despite the intense chakra output. Damn, this is bad_. He began looking around for a place to stop and rest, safely hidden from anyone searching for him. Trees…rocks…trees…rocks…trees…a clearing by a river…Wait! A clearing by a river! It was perfect! Kakashi jumped down, using the last of his chakra to crouch down at the water's edge and get a drink from his hands. Kakashi gasped as the cold water ran down his dry throat, and only after he had drank enough to momentarily quench his thirst did he realize how hungry he was. Sighing, he took another drink and looked around. There was an enormous waterfall crashing down over a steep overhang of rocks. The water soared down the falls with a crash and a roar, and as Kakashi moved to his right he could see caves behind the rocks. He smiled. Talk about hiding in plain sight! Using the very last drop of his chakra, Kakashi ducked behind the torrent and holed up in a shallow cave to rest.

**A/N: Well, how do you like that! The plot thickens! . My document manager kept screwing up the page breaks and all, so I had to use O's. I don't like it, but if it works…Oh well! You like? Want the next chapter? Two reviews, please! I love hearing what you think, and I'm sure you all like having the next chapter! So…REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	5. Chapter 4: What do you want!

**A/N: Sorry I couldn't post this sooner. I had stuff to do. Important notes at the end, so read them all!!! Enjoy!!!** Chapter 4 

"I got something!"

Ruika skidded to a halt just short of a clearing, a river in its midst. Ruika instantly recognized the river: the Veil of Tears! And Kakashi was so strong here-

"He's here!" Ruika cried as the squads caught up with her. Tsunade stepped forward, stopping at Ruika's right side.

"Kurenai, Ruika…Asuma, Gai, Shizune, and I will go. The rest of you just stay here. No, strike that entirely. Form a perimeter around the clearing; there are enough of you here to do so. We'll get Kakashi and come back. Stay around the clearing until I say otherwise."

"Right!"

The rest of the ninja disappeared in one huge cloud of smoke. Tsunade quickly glanced back and forth; _so they _are _worth their trouble,_ she thought. _They hid themselves very well and very quickly._

"Okay then," she said slowly. "Heads calls positions. Ruika, call it."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi could hear them coming.

He could smell them coming too. The only problem was that his chakra was just about gone and he was having trouble moving.

_Enemies._

Konoha had no idea where he was or the situation he was in. The only people who might know where he was were the Akatsuki; therefore they could be the only people around.

As the first of them rounded, the corner, he spoke.

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi scrambled to his feet, just as swiftly losing his footing. The ground rushed up to meet him, and Kakashi braced himself for the impact of the wet stone and the blows he was certain would follow. Kakashi knew they would punish him for escaping; the only question was how…and how severely. What would they-?

The ground never hit Kakashi; instead, he fell into someone's body. Strong arms encircled Kakashi, and he began to fight against the grip the person had on him. But whoever it was held him firmly, whispering calming, soothing words in his ear. Kakashi looked up; that voice was so familiar, and the smell of smoke almost made it seem like-

"Asuma…"

The cigarette sticking out of the corner of the jounin's mouth confirmed his identity to Kakashi, and he let his head fall again into Asuma's chest.

"Come on," he murmured, sliding his arms around Kakashi's shoulders and legs and carefully lifting his body. "Let's bring you home."

OOOOOOOOO

Kurenai and the ANBU dashed ahead, Asuma, Gai, Shizune, and Tsunade behind them, and the rest of the ANBU behind them. Asuma was still carrying Kakashi, taking extra care to avoid tight spaces where branches might hit Kakashi and where the branches might not be strong enough to support them both at once. Shizune and Gai jumped from limb to limb slightly ahead of Asuma, bending branches out of the way and checking them for strength. They all moved rapidly; they knew that the sooner Kakashi was back in Konoha, the better. He needed medical attention and he seemed traumatized.

"Kurenai!" Tsunade called. "How far until Konoha?"

"We should be coming up on the gates right about…now!"

Kurenai drew up right in front of the magnificent gates of Konohagure village. Everyone else pulled up short behind her to avoid a collision, then formed an opening for Tsunade to walk through. Tsunade smiled as she approached the gates.

"I knew it," she said. "Chuunin Exams." The gates had been thrown wide open to admit anyone who might be passing by. The only restriction of any sort were the two jounin stationed on either side of the gates.

"Lady Tsunade!" the first one called, rushing forward to greet them. He stopped short upon seeing Kakashi, a horrified expression on his face. "The best of us all…"

"He's not dead, stupid," Tsuande snapped. "He's just asleep. And don't wake him, because if you do, I can assure you that he will not be the only one mad. Have the Chuunins started yet?"  
"No," the other jounin said, jumped down. "We just opened the gates about an hour ago. Only one genin team had arrived so far; the first of two from the new village that formed in place of Otoga; the Village Hidden in the Shadows, I believe it's called."

Tsunade nodded. "Good. You sent them to register?"

"We did," the first jounin replied, his eye still on Kakashi.

"Good," Tsunade said. "Keep that up; I'll be there in a little while I just have to take care of some…_unfinished business _to take care of, how about that? Shizune, get Kakashi situated in the hospital, please. I'll keep him there for about a week."

Shizune nodded and beckoned to Asuma. They both took off for the Konoha Hospital, Asuma carrying Kakashi. Tsunade turned back to the jounin.

"Watch the shadows closely."

OOOOOOOOO

"There," Shizune said with a sigh, pulling the covers up Kakashi's lifeless form. "When he wakes up, it might be a good idea to have someone with him. Volunteers?"

"Us!!!"

Shizune looked up to see Naruto and Sakura catapulting through the door, panting and out of breath. It was Sakura who had spoken.

"Fine. But if I hear a peep out of this room, the two of you are out and I am finding someone else. Got it?"

Sakura nodded and sat down next to Kakashi's head. Naruto found a chair to sit in and scraped it along the floor to Kakashi's other side.

"Once we're all out, you can wake him up," Shizune said. "But be very gentle, especially around his head. Being around Itachi and being traumatized this badly could be…not good, let's go with that, and he could be a little skittish for a while, especially if the trauma Itachi dealt him in previous encounters comes back with this one. No sudden movements."

"Jeez, you spend too much time at this place," Naruto muttered.

"She's right Naruto," Sakura scolded. "If it's as bad as we think, and there's no way to tell, we have to be careful until we know exactly how bad it is."

"You too!" Naruto cried. "Agh!"

"Shush!"

"Sakura, I'm awake and can hear every word you are saying."

"Kakashi-sensei!!!"

Naruto threw his arms around Kakashi and pulled him up into his arms. "I knew you'd be okay!!!"

"Go away, Naruto," Kakashi muttered, pushing away the hyper blonde and turning onto his stomach. Naruto recoiled as if slapped.

"But…sensei…"

"I thought I told you two to _go away_!"

Sakura looked sad as she ran her hand through Kakashi's blood stained, silver hair once, and then stood. "All right. Just promise me you'll get some rest."

"Get…_out_!!"

Sakura shoved Naruto out the door as Kakashi pressed his face to the pillow in shame. What had he done?

OOOOOOOOO

"Back so soon?"

Sakura hung her head and Naruto looked down at the floor at Tsunade's biting words. "We came to talk to you…about Kakashi-sensei…"

"What?"

"He's really in bad shape," Sakura said slowly. "He looked bad. We were afraid he might do something harmful to himself."

"You're saying he's suicidal."

It wasn't an accusation; but it wasn't a mere statement either. Naruto began chewing nervously on a hangnail as Tsunade exhaled. Naruto was beginning to wonder exactly how big Tsunade's lungs were when she finally said, "Fine. I'll go see what's wrong."

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade slid open the door to Kakashi's room and slipped in as quietly as possible.

"I know you're here, so don't bother trying to mask your presence."

"Wasn't trying," Tsunade said without skipping a beat. On the outside, she might have looked as if Kakashi hadn't startled her at all; but on the inside her mind was reeling. Kakashi hadn't even lifted his face from the pillow, and yet he claimed he had heard her. Was he even human? She had made no sound-she had made sure of it! And Kakashi had no chakra with which to enhance his senses…lucky guess?

Tsunade sat down and pulled Kakashi's head into her lap. "Well, then, since you already know I'm here I may as well just start comforting you."

"I don't need sympathy. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me."

Tsunade gave a small smile. "But you must be hurting a little…maybe a little on the inside…deep down…?"

Kakashi closed his eyes. "Damn you for being so perceptive. But I expect nothing less from a Hokage."

Tsunade carefully lifted the rest of Kakashi's body and braced him against her shoulder. Kakashi, with his eyes closed, didn't notice Tsunade lowering her face to his until-

Their lips touched.

A/N: Okay, I failed to mention a couple things before I started this fanfic, which I will mention now. We are pretending Tsunade is as young as she looks, simply so she and Kakashi can be together. I really like this couple, and no one has ever done them before. This is set after the time skip; way after. Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto have been defeated and taken themselves and their snakes someplace else, leaving Otoga a wasteland. So some rogue ninja overtook it and made it the Village Hidden in the Shadows. Soooo…now that you know that no flames about, "Tsunade's too old for Kakashi" or "The Village Hidden in the Shadows doesn't exist" or crap about "But Orochimaru should still be here!" or "But Kabuto and Sasuke shouldn't have been kicked out!" Hang with me. If you want them, no flames, PM please. I might put them in later, like a couple other people who might seem like useless crap right now. But if you want something, feel free to PM me.


	6. Chapter 5:Want, Need, Escape, or Desire?

**A/N: This is kind of borderline stuff, because there is a lot of screaming women and innuendo, so read at your own risk. Extreme Frenching as well!!! Might qualify as M, might not. No actual stuff, not even groping, but innuendo and swearing. Acknowledgements at the end. Read them for your name!!!**

Chapter 5 

Kakashi felt a shock go through his body as Tsunade kissed him. At first, he couldn't even move. But as Tsunade deepened the kiss, Kakashi found himself opened his mouth beneath the mask, almost asking Tsunade for more. Tsunade obliged, yanking down Kakashi's mask and kissing him again. Kakashi's lips parted again, and Tsunade thrust her tongue into his mouth. Kakashi let her, and in turn pushed his own tongue forward. Tsunade seemed willing to let him kiss her back, and soon the two of them were tangled in each other's bodies, and Tsunade's hands were skimming over Kakashi's bare chest.

"You're absolutely wonderful," Tsunade murmured against Kakashi's lips as the two paused to breath.

"So I've heard," Kakashi said softly, letting Tsunade kiss him again. Tsunade slipped her hands around Kakashi's waist, pressing their bodies together, silver to yellow, red Sharingan to purple chakra seal-

"Oh…my God…"

Tsunade and Kakashi shot away from each other, staring at the intruder. Shizune stood in the doorway, jaw hanging open, eyes bugged out.

"Shizune…" Tsunade weakly started. "This probably isn't what you think it is."

"Then what is it?!" Shizune screeched, her face reddening. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, and suddenly she seemed to rival Tsunade's fury. "If you're not trying to have sex, what _are_ you doing?!"

"Expressing my feelings for someone," Tsunade said tartly, untangling herself from Kakashi. Kakashi tried to help her, leaning back and straightening himself out.

"You can't constantly-"

"Shut the fck up!" Tsunade hollered, still trying to get completely off Kakashi. "Before I make you!"

"You can't go through life having sex to escape your problems!" Shizune screamed back, equally as loud as the sannin.

"I am not trying to escape my problems for starters, and secondly, having sex was never my intention!"

Kakashi sighed and yanked the pillow over his head. Maybe they would take the hint by next Tuesday…

OOOOOOOOO

"_Uchiha Itachi!!!"_

Itachi sighed and kicked open the door to the apartment next to his. "What, Yasu?" he asked with a heavy sigh. Training had taken up a bit more energy than Itachi had planned to use, because apparently Zetsu had failed to heed his friends' warnings and stay off the training grounds because Itachi was using them, and had come anyway. Itachi had had to kick him out.

"Where is Kakashi?!"

"What do you mean where is he?" Itachi shot back. "How should I know? And why would you not? You were in here the whole time, why wouldn't _you_ know?"

"I left him to sleep," Yasu snapped. "He fell asleep again after you left, so I left him alone."

At first, Itachi could only stare. "You…you're supposed to be…a ninja genius…Shall I take you through the process you moron?!"

"He was faking, wasn't he?"

Itachi's mouth opened slightly in disbelief. "Gee, that's a tough one…_Of course he was faking, you pinhead!!!"_

Yasu turned on Itachi, Sharingan blazing. "I don't care what happened, and I know I was careless. Now, you have five days to get him back. Take whoever you want, use any method you want, I just want him back. And if he's not back here in five days, guess who's in more hot water then they've ever put anyone into?"  
"Why stop there?" Itachi taunted. "Why not boiling _oil _instead? What's wrong with scorching iron-?" He gave a short yelp of surprise as he ducked the blow Yasu threw at him, laughing all the way. "What's wrong with slow pinpricks and cuts? What's the matter with burns and choking? And don't tell me you have scruples about-" Itachi had to stop again to catch Yasu's fist in his own.

"Unless you want all that torture and more offloaded onto your pretty girly face, you had better get moving."

"Man, you must want him in bed so bad-"

"Shut the fck up, you asshole!!"

Yasu raised her knee surprisingly fast, nailing Itachi directly in the groin. Itachi howled with pain and laughter and sank to the floor, a writhing mass of pain. His side ached from laughing so hard, and his legs hurt from where Yasu had kicked him.

"_Now, you bastard!!!!!"_

"Just promise me you won't screw him too hard," Itachi gasped between breaths. "That's my job."

"_NOW!!!!!!!!!"_

OOOOOOOOO

"Agggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Naruto clamped his hands over his ears as he and Sakura passed Tsunade's office. She and Shizune had moved their argument into the office, away from Kakashi, and Naruto was beginning to wonder if they were using chakra to try to out-scream the other.

"So many screaming women," Naruto muttered as he slowly removed his hands from his ears.

"Training at the hot springs again?" Sakura asked with an exasperated glance.

"Yeah," Naruto groaned. "Oh, my ears-they bleed!"

"Naruto."

"Hm?"

"Shut up. Please."

Naruto ducked his head and thrust his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm just worried about Kakashi-sensei," he said. "What if the Akatsuki comes and tried to kidnap him again? I doubt we could hold them off for very long, and Kakashi-sensei is in no condition to be fighting them, emotionally and physically, he's like…dead."

Sakura sighed and hung her head. "I guess we can only wait."

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu began pacing impatiently. It was a crummy day: raining and wet and miserable. Only Zetsu and Hidan were staying behind; Itachi had taken everyone else to get Kakashi back. Since it was raining, Yasu couldn't train. And Zetsu and Hidan weren't much for company. Yasu sighed. What was taking Itachi so long? It had been two days, and usually Itachi could find Kakashi in seconds. Well, she could skulk around and try to scare the crap out of people…that was always fun. Or maybe…no, she would just see where everyone was in their missions. After all, her second priority was the jinchuuri and their demons, so she may as well check on everything. But…her mind wasn't quite with it. It was on Kakashi; and how much she wanted him.

For his mixed blood.

Yes, the Hatake were the most illustrious clan in all of Konoha, purebred and they had long pedigrees. However, Kakashi was different. He was the red among the blue, the different taint in the pool of blue. The White Fang ran through his veins, and his half-sister's as well. But while almost all Hatake mastered the White Fang at a very young age and all of them had it, only Kakashi's had been adapted to the Sharingan and the Chidori. The Chidori could now be used with Kakashi's white chakra, and Ruika could hold the enemy in a Chidori prison. The exclusive kekkea genkai of Hatake Kakashi, and only he could ever do it.

And for that, Yasu wanted him.

Under her control, Kakashi would unleash the White Fang on anyone Yasu wanted dead. Yasu would hold the complete Hatake legacy in her complete control, and Kakashi would be totally hers.

"Lady Yasu!"

Yasu whipped around to see Zetsu catapulting towards her, plant-leaves blowing back ferociously.

"We have a _serious_ problem!"

A/N: Weeeeeeell, that's that!!! Surprise in the next chapter, for those of you who desperately want to know. Acknowledgements:

**Thank you SasuHina4ver for kicking this story off!**

**Thank you Valinor's Twilight for constantly reviewing and putting something in for every chapter.**

**Thank you sarah for dropping a line every now and then.**

**And thank you to my latest reviewer, Pol.**

**Thank you everyone and keep reviewing!!!  hugs!!!**


	7. Chapter 6: Don't You Dare

Chapter 6 

"Agh!"

"Kurenai?"

Kurenai crumpled into a heap at Asuma's feet, clutching at her head. "Oooooh, Kami-sama," she muttered, trying to stand.

"What?"

Asuma dropped to his knees next to his girlfriend, slowly putting his arms around her shoulders. "What?" he repeated, pulling her close.

"My sister…" Kurenai said softly. "The-_agh!!"_

"Kurenai, what's wrong?"

Asuma turned Kurenai's face towards his own, staring into her blood red eyes. A sudden shock went through his body.

The rings in Kurenai's eyes had broken into three segments and were beginning to turn, just like Kakashi's Sharingan.

"No…" Asuma whispered, pulling back a bit. "Kurenai, what's-"

"The Yuuhi's bloodline," Kurenai said lowly. "Remember it?"

"Of course…" Asuma said slowly. "The Yuuhi's exclusive bloodline limit trait-their own kekkea genkai: the Sakura Shintenshin!"

Kurenai nodded, then gasped. "She's so much stronger than she used to be…"

Asuma looked at her in concern. "What do we do?" he asked, deep voice riddled with worry.

"What _can _we do?" Kurenai replied flatly. "We wait. There's simply no other option."

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi crouched in the bushes, two steps ahead of the squad he had brought. Surprisingly, everyone except Zetsu and Hidan had _wanted_ to come, so Itachi simply took them and let Hidan sulk over the recent failure of his last mission, and Zetsu run around the headquarters and scare the crap out of people. Speaking of which, Yasu was probably doing so as well. She had probably transformed into a bloody zombie and was stalking Zetsu, trying to beat him at his own game. _And I can't even watch the fun,_ Itachi thought sarcastically. He slipped forward, silent as a panther, and pressed himself to the brick wall of the hospital. _Okay- if I've estimated right, Kakashi's room should be three up and six to the left. _Itachi slithered along the side of the wall, counting windows as he passed them. He stopped under the second from the left and looked up. _All right, then…this is it. _He raised a hand, and within the second the five other Akatsuki members who had come along were at his side, ready to do as he asked.

"Deidara," Itachi said softly. "Open the window three up from here. Sasori, send up a puppet first to check for traps and alarms. Everyone else, we've gone through this and you know what to do. Stay with me for now. We surprise him on Sasori's signal. Sasori- it's up t the puppet."

Sasori nodded and unwrapped a small puppet, about half Itachi's size. "This should do it," he said, connecting his chakra threads to those of the puppet. He worked carefully and quickly, making sure that the strings were not tangled. "It's equipped with poisoned blades in just about every joint, the head and some of the limbs break free if it gets stuck on something, and I've got a poison bomb stashed in there somewhere." Sasori turned the puppet, trying to find the opening for the poison bomb. "Okay, here it is. If it gets messy I'll just let this out." He connected another chakra string to the hatch on the back and readied the puppet. "Okay-up you go." He directed the puppet to the window Deidara had just shoved clay into and waited.

Dead silence.

For the longest time.

Someone elbowed Itachi, and the sannin-level missing-nin turned towards whoever had just stuck him in the ribs.

"Did it blow up?" Kisame asked eagerly.

Itachi stared in astonishment. "How…do you even…get dressed by yourself?!"

"_Whaaaaat_ it could have!!" Kisame whined.

"No smoke, no bang, no fire, you blockhead," Itachi snapped.

"quit arguing for a second, you two," Sasori said shortly, "and get up there. We're clear as far as the puppet sees. And the puppet sees pretty far. It's as quiet as a tomb up here."

Itachi shivered at Sasori's choice of words. It might be…but for who?

"Hey…Itachi, you okay?"

Itachi turned to Deidara, who was standing next to him. "Yeah, just kinda cold out here," Itachi muttered. "Let's go."

He concentrated his chakra, reaching down deep into the dark recesses of his chakra highway, coiling around vital organs and intertwining with blood vessels and arteries. Itachi felt his red chakra spring to life at his hands and feet. Around him, Itachi could feel various chakra signatures springing up: blue, yellow, orange, maroon. Itachi smirked to himself.

I have you now, Hatake. And I hope you put up a damn good fight so I can repay you for the trouble you caused me. You are so dead, Hatake. And if I ever get the chance, I am screwing you into oblivion. Bet your soul on it, I will make it happen, you ass. And anyone, even you, who tries to stop me, will find themselves in pure hell while enjoy heaven. So just do what I tell you to, and we'll all be happy.

Itachi began to scale the wall, working his way up like a spider. He counted the windows as he went and, reaching the third one up, he jumped through, landing soundlessly with cat-like grace.

Kakashi was sleeping quietly on his right side, chest rising and falling with each breath. His silver hair fell around his face and onto the pillow, the edges still slightly tinged red with blood from Itachi's last encounter with him. Itachi sighed at the mask still covering Kakashi's face. If the hint of his face was anything like the real thing, Itachi was in for a real treat when he captured the jounin. He could finally take off the mask completely, and see what Kakashi was constantly hiding. Kakashi might use the mask for his own reasons, but Itachi thought he just wanted to hide his imperfections, and to hide from the world. Itachi almost didn't want to wake Kakashi: his fragile innocence would shatter under Itachi.

Itachi inhaled deeply and stepped away from the window. Kisame climbed through with a bit of trouble, still wrestling with Samehada. Deidara jumped through as if he was jumping through a doorway with feet to spare. He landed in a crouch, pressing his palms flat to the floor in an attempt to feel vibrations in the floor. Sasori made it in just like his partner: soundlessly and easily. Itachi waited for everyone to get in before he made his move.

Itachi slipped closer to Kakashi's side, carefully intertwining his fingers with the silver locks that reminded Itachi so much of perfection. Itachi noticed Kakashi begin to stir, and he moved so quickly that not even Sasori could see him move.

Itachi grabbed Kakashi and yanked him up towards his body, plastering his hand over Kakashi's mouth. Itachi felt Kakashi snap awake against him, and immediately he began to struggle against Itachi's hold.

"Kisame, get his hands," Itachi muttered, still wrestling with Kakashi. The jounin was surprisingly strong for someone Itachi had tortured just a couple of days ago. Kisame darted forward and snatched Kakashi's wrists, yanking them away from Itachi's hands. Itachi could feel rivulets of blood trickling down his arms from where Kakashi had scratched him. "Kick me and you're dead," Kisame said sourly, tying Kakashi's wrists together with a length of sharkskin. "This should hold him," he said, tying the final knot. "It'll drain his chakra and his strength, so he'll be down for the count in about…an hour. He should collapse then."

Itachi gave a curt nod of thanks and wrapped his now-freed arm around Kakashi's shoulders in an attempt to control him. "Shush," he murmured, pressing Kakashi's head against his shoulder. "If you move, I'll snap your neck like a twig."

Kakashi, however, was having none of this. He knew Yasu wanted him alive, and Itachi really wouldn't kill him otherwise Yasu would kill Itachi. He cocked his left foot and kicked back, hitting Itachi's shin. Hard. Itachi grunted in pain and said,

"Someone slap him for me, please."

"Move your hand," Deidara said, pushing past Kisame. Itachi took his hand off Kakashi's mouth and Deidara slapped Kakashi so hard the jounin yelped and twisted against Itachi harder than he had the entire night.

"Hit him again," he commanded. Deidara obliged, smacking Kakashi even harder.

"We're gonna hit you until you shut your mouth and figure out how to control yourself," Itachi whispered in Kakashi's ear.

"Lemme go," Kakashi groaned, still trying to escape Itachi's arms.

Itachi sighed. "Again."

This time, Kakashi only whimpered, realizing that Itachi wouldn't give up. "One more time," Itachi said. "Just to make sure he's learned his lesson." This time, Kakashi took the blows without a sound, barely even turning his head at this point, and simply wanting everyone away. His natural instincts were beginning to kick in, and he was merely submitting to Itachi to avoid being hurt even more.

"All right, stop."

Itachi's command was the best thing Kakashi had heard the entire month, and he closed his eyes in defeat. The sharkskin was now going for the last of his strength, and he had been punished severely. He simply couldn't hold himself up anymore. He collapsed to his knees, and Itachi let him fall.

The last thing he remembered as he blacked out was someone cutting the sharkskin away from his wrists.

OOOOOOOOO

"What is it _now_ Zetsu?" Yasu asked, somewhat annoyed.

"You know that jutsu Hidan uses to see things that aren't here? Well, he used it to find Itachi and he decided that Itachi was fine and he didn't need anything so he went to see Kakashi and you'll never guess what happened!!"

Yasu sighed. "I'm dying to know," she drawled.

"Well, he saw Kakashi and Tsunade _Frenching each other until they stopped breathing!!!"_

Yasu stared. "You…have…no…life…"

"_Noooooooooo, _don't you get it?!" Zetsu whined. "They're in love!!! And if Itachi goes through with the retrieval of the jounin, and Tsunade finds out, we're all toast!!"

"Do what you want, hamburger meat."

"But are you gonna do?" Zetsu asked. "Half of Konoha is gonna be all over us if we don't do something now we're _all _gonna be hamburger meat!!"

Yasu shrugged. "I'll take care of them. With Kakashi as my slave, I can do just about whatever I want. And they wouldn't dare hurt him, now would they?"

"Well…no…I guess not…But what about Tsunade? What will you _do?_"

A demonic grin spread across Yasu's face. "Anything I have to."

**A/N: Sorry, I had to delay that surprise I promised for next chapter. OMG, you have so good to me with all the reviews pouring in!!! Thank you everyone who reviewed! I look forward to what you have to say this time!!! Oh, yeah, and yesterday was my birthday. Send me fuzzies and chocolates!!!**


	8. Chapter 7: Can, Can't and Won't

Chapter 7 

Kakashi woke up barely able to move.

Testing his limits, he found that his hands had been tied behind his back, so tightly that they were bleeding. His feet were tied as well, but not as tightly. He had been stripped of his weapons, and even his jounin vest had been taken. _They must know there are powerful scrolls in there._ Kakashi sighed. How did he get out of this one?

Itachi had gagged him as well.

_Oh, this changes things. _Kakashi didn't know how long he had been out, where he was, or who was holding him prisoner. _Again. I just hope Tsunade finds me soon, otherwise I am road kill."_

"Naughty," someone scolded from across the room. Kakashi turned to see who it was. Yasu slowly walked towards him, footsteps echoing off the stone walls and floors of the chamber. "I hear you were pretty nasty on the way here, _Kakashi._" Kakashi internally flinched as his name was spat in distaste. Yasu's eyes narrowed as she glared down at Kakashi, then slowly lowered herself so that she was on eye level with him. "You've been struggling," she said plainly, and reached out to touch him. Kakashi recoiled in disgust. He didn't want this filth touching him! Yasu smiled as Kakashi's body suddenly froze.

What a hell he was in! Like a dog, he was chained to the wall by the neck. Immediately, Kakashi tried the thick, short chain to see if it was a genjutsu. This only earned him a painful yelp as the chain dug into the tender skin of his neck. Yasu slid her fingers under the edge of the chain, gently tugging it away from Kakashi's throat. Warm blood soaked her fingertips, and she swept her fingertips across Kakashi's face, avoiding the edges of the mask. Kakashi felt his own blood smeared across his cheeks and dropped his gaze in shame. Shinobi honor was often stripped away, but this was too far, to be painted in his own blood! Kakashi lifted his chin and yanked his head away from Yasu's hands. Yasu grinned.

"You're so proud," she murmured. "Being degraded this much is unfamiliar to you. But then again, true pride can never be truly crushed."

Yasu slid her hands around Kakashi's body and slowly pulled everything away from his face. "No!" she said sharply, pressing her hand to his mouth. "Don't even go there."

Kakashi made one last effort to get away, trying to stretch himself out, and recoil in a slightly different position than before. But Yasu saw right through his plan of escape, and pulled him closer.

Before he knew what was happening, Kakashi was being kissed.

The mask was gone, and Yasu was kissing him full on the mouth. Kakashi, shocked tried to pull away, but Yasu was having none of it and forced him to endure the kiss. Kakashi sighed and held relatively still.

Yasu finally released him, breathless.

"You're absolutely wonderful," she murmured, sliding the mask back up over the bridge of Kakashi's nose. "And so beautiful."

Kakashi, unsure of how to take that, simply sat, trying to absorb the shock. Yasu smirked.

"You are mine. Don't you ever forget it."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi knew who it was shaking him awake. That was exactly why he didn't want to wake up.

"Get _up _already," Itachi muttered, shaking him harder. Kakashi sighed.

"What?" he grumbled, unhappy to be disturbed. "What is it that is so desperate that you can't even let me sleep?"  
"Yasu wants you."

Kakashi fell back and turned onto his stomach, pressing his face to the damp concrete he was chained to. "Then forget it."

"Noooooo," Itachi said sourly, pulling Kakashi into a sitting position. He yanked the chains off Kakashi's wrists and ankles, hurling them aside and holding Kakashi at the same time. "And if you don't I will make you-"

"Yeah right," Kakashi said, trying to collapse again. "That's what they all say."

"What's different about me?" Itachi growled.

"You're girlier than them all."

Itachi sighed. "If I wasn't under orders, I would really hurt you."

"Sure you would," Kakashi said sarcastically. "Yasu would torture you to death."

"And maybe that's not so bad," Itachi muttered. Kakashi certainly knew how to try his patience! Itachi decisively set his face into stone and placed his hand son Kakashi's hips. "Let's go brat," he said hardly, picking up Kakashi's body. Kakashi defiantly twisted until Itachi's hands were around his lower back. Itachi adjusted to the shift immediately, moving one of his hands to support Kakashi's shoulders and tightening the other in the small of Kakashi's back.

"Don't you dare fight me," Itachi growled, pressing Kakashi to his own body. "You know how I'll punish you."

Kakashi began to shrink away even more, going to himself in hopes of putting a few inches between him and Itachi. He felt Itachi tighten his grip on Kakashi even more, and tried to quiet.

"Well, at least you're smart," Itachi sighed.

Kakashi exhaled, almost submissively, silver hair falling onto Itachi's chest as he let his head fall. "You want to kill me, don't you?"

"You're afraid, aren't you?"

Itachi almost felt sorry for Kakashi; he lived in constant fear. But once Yasu was done with him, he wouldn't have to fear. He would be more powerful than ever, and all he had to do was accept a kiss from Yasu.

The Slave Curse was like that: a mere kiss. It symbolized the bond between lovers, one as master, the other submitting to the first's will. As soon as the victim fully accepted it, they would be under Yasu's complete control. All Yasu had to do was mix a drop of her blood with her victim's, usually by cutting both the victim's and the sealer's palms and pressing them together. The second the two bloods touched, the seal was complete. A tattoo-like seal would appear on the victim's palm, and, like Orochimaru's curse seal, when activated, the seal would give the victim unimaginable power. But of course, being under Yasu's control Kakashi could never really use it for himself.

Yasu looked up from her book as Itachi entered, dragging a reluctant and tired Kakashi along with him.

"Finally!" Yasu exclaimed, jumping up. She took Kakashi from Itachi and held him against her body. "I was beginning to think he was hurting you."

"He was," Kakashi muttered under his breath.

"Come here," Yasu murmured, sliding her hands around Kakashi's waist. The jounin pushed her away.

"How about no?"

Yasu smiled. "You're so defiant," she said quietly. "Why won't you submit to me? Why won't you just give in? You know it's me you love-why not give me your soul, since I already have it?"

Kakashi gave her a glare that would cut through stone, Sharingan blazing. "You don't possess me, in any way. I do not love you, at all. You already know that."

Yasu shrugged. "Suit yourself." Itachi's eyes flickered back and forth between the pair. He realized that in a battle of wills he might have to interfere. Yasu was outrageously stubborn, but Kakashi was probably equally as stubborn. Yasu would probably have to wear Kakashi down, and then try the sealing. If he fought back, it would be hazardous to all of them.

Yasu leaned forward, holding Kakashi's head still with one hand and pulling down his mask with the other.

_Aw, crap! She's going for it! _Itachi glanced back and forth frantically. _Crap, Yasu! It's too soon! Unless she thinks someone's here…_

"Yasu! Watch out!"

Several kunai burst out of nowhere, flying straight at Yasu's head. Yasu pulled back from Kakashi, startled. She made a hard decision fast; she pushed Kakashi to the floor, out of the way, and dove the other way.

"Itachi!" she called as she landed. The carpet scraped along her elbows as she slid back, and Yasu could feel a rug burn surface on her skin. "Don't let him get to her!"

Itachi lunged at Kakashi, trying to get a hold of him before the shock wore off. Then he would-

"_Agh!!"_

Itachi barely had time to react before a foot was thrown across his face. _Mazaka! She couldn't have moved that fast! Unless…no way! There are two of them! Oh, we are so screwed…_

Tsunade was crouched over Kakashi, poised to kick Itachi again. The wild, feral look in her eyes reminded Itachi vaguely of Kakashi, and it told him that Tsunade would defend him with her life. Her arms were positioned on either side of Kakashi's shoulders, and her right leg hovered in the air, in the same position she had been in when she kicked Itachi. Her left leg was planted firmly to Kakashi's left. Slowly lowering her leg she sat back and slid her arms around Kakashi and picked him up.

"I missed you," she murmured. "Ruika did too."

Kakashi looked to the doorway, then the window. The door was wide open, and Ruika was standing in it. The window had been shattered, and shards of glass lying everywhere. A thin line of blood ran down Tsunade's face from where the glass had cut her, but the look in her eyes was still gentle as she reached down and touched Kakashi's face.

"You wanna come home?"

Kakashi nodded and pressed his face to Tsunade's shoulder. "Please."

"Tsunade! Down!"

Tsunade looked up- a second too late.

Yasu seized Kakashi's shoulders, yanking him up towards her body. Kakashi felt Yasu's sharp fingernails pierce his skin and he yelped with pain and surprise. He felt Yasu shove the mask away from his face and kiss him with a lust Kakashi had only ever seen before in Itachi's eyes. He tried desperately to squirm out of her grasp, and he could feel his lips begin to bruise under Yasu.

"Come on, Kakashi, fight her!" Tsunade cried, jumping up and running for Kakashi. Itachi blocked her, but that left Ruika unguarded. Itachi swore harshly and shoved at Tsunade, and, while she was down, he headed for Ruika. "Don't let her touch you! As long as you fight her, the curse won't work! But the second you stop resisting, we can't help you!"

Yasu took Kakashi's head in her grasp and held him still as she thrust her tongue into his mouth, trying to gain control over him. Kakashi began to panic; he fought even more viciously against Yasu as she reached for one of the open cuts on Kakashi's back. The crescent-moon shaped wounds ached and stung as blood rose to the surface. Kakashi continued to fight, though. He trusted that Tsunade would help him.

Kakashi felt someone take his shoulders from behind and gently pull him back, trying to ease him off of Yasu. Kakashi bit down hard on Yasu's tongue, chasing her out of his mouth. Yasu grabbed at Kakashi one last time, taking one last chance wit him.

Ruika charged, raised her leg, kicked Yasu hard in the head-

Yasu cried out in surprise and pain as she fell to the floor, unconscious. Her grip on Kakashi was lost, and Tsunade took full advantage of the opportunity. She pulled Kakashi into her chest and rolled on top of him to protect him from the kunai that Itachi had just thrown in desperation. Pain stabbed through her hand as the kunai plunged through her palm. But it hadn't hit anything remotely vital, and, more importantly it had not hit Kakashi. Tsunade yanked the blade out of her hand and threw it aside with a loud clang. Her hands formed the sign of the tiger, and in a split second, she disappeared in a spectacular explosion of smoke.

**A/N: Sorry this is so late. I had trouble keeping Kakashi in character, and Tsunade was kind of bugging me too. I like a submissive Kakashi since it's so rare and so cute, and this was the perfect situation to put it in. I had to try hard to keep him in character. Soooo…Thank you everyone who reviewed, and the next chapter should come a lot faster since I already have the general storyline planned out. Thanks again:)**


	9. Chapter 8: Weakness?

A/N: Sorry this is so late. My grandma is in the hospital with pneumonia, and I will be spending a lot of time with her there. So for the next week or two updates will be a little later. Sorry everyone who is reading this, but it can't be helped. And a special thank-you goes to Valinor's Twilight, who has put something in for every chapter and waiting so patiently for it all. Thanks again!

Chapter 8 

At first, Kakashi couldn't move. Tsunade's grip on him was as strong as Yasu's had been, and he could feel new bruises rising to the surface under Tsunade's hands.

"Tsunade-sama," he whimpered, squirming in her grasp.

"I'm sorry," Tsunade said quietly, and she released him, gently moving him away to arm's length to inspect his wounds. "You okay?"

"No…but I will be…in about a week…" Kakashi moved closer to Tsunade again, almost crowding into her chest. Tsunade wrapped her arms around him, acutely aware of his pain.

"What did they do to you?"

Kakashi decided not to give a response.

Tsunade focused healing chakra to her hands and pressed them to Kakashi's back. A sting immediately rose to the surface of Kakashi's skin as the wounds closed over, and he pulled away slightly in pain. Tsunade took her hands off Kakashi's back.

"It's okay," she said softly, stretching out her hand to Kakashi. "Come on, come here."

Kakashi slunk back into Tsunade's arms and she silently embraced him, somewhat afraid of how traumatized he was. This was bad: it was completely out of Kakashi's character, to act up this much and to be this submissive. Tsunade slowly lowered her head to Kakashi's and placed a light kiss on his bared lips.

"I love you, you know."

Kakashi nodded, and Tsunade could feel his hands find their way around her waist. Tsunade lifted his face to hers, and kissed his soft, pale lips. Her kiss was gentle and understanding; Kakashi couldn't help but draw comfort from it. Tsunade held Kakashi as close to her as possible, unwilling to let him go again. Kakashi felt something warm and moist slip down his cheek and fall onto Tsunade's hand. Tsunade looked up, and Kakashi could see her on the brink of tears as well.

For a moment, no one broke the silence.

"Wimp."

Tsunade laughed at Kakashi's teasing insult. "Yeah, yeah, you started the whole thing."

Kakashi gave her a weak smile and pulled his mask back up. "I probably did."

Tsunade's lips twitched into a small smile. "Oh, be quiet, you. I'm going to heal you, and it might hurt a bit. Just don't move, okay? The less movement you make, the faster it'll go."

Tsunade's hands glowed a gentle green as she pressed them to Kakashi's back once again. Tsunade's sensitive fingertips picked up a very faint shiver go through Kakashi's body, but he made no move away from her. Tsunade finished relatively quickly; the wounds were all superficial. To Kakashi, Tsunade had a gentle touch for someone who had beaten Orochimaru to a pulp.

Tsunade let the chakra taper off as she removed her hands. "Better?"

Kakashi nodded, not even bothering to lift his face from Tsunade's shoulder. Tsunade slid her hands under Kakashi's body. She lifted him extremely carefully, keeping him as close to her as possible.

"Get some rest," she murmured, taking the three steps to a bed in the corner of the room they were in. "You're going to need it."

"One last question," Kakashi asked. Tsunade smiled and set him down on the mattress, brushing his hair away from his face.

"What?"

"Where am I?"

Tsunade's smile widened. "In my bed. Now quiet down and get some sleep."

Kakashi was too tired to disobey.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade waited until Kakashi fell asleep to pick up his palm and look at it. The slice on it, still oozing blood, confirmed her worst fears. So Yasu truly _was _trying to bind him to her…Kakashi's muscles twitched as Tsunade brushed against the inside of his wrist. Tsunade's eyebrows came together and the corners of her mouth turned down in a frown. _What the-? _She had studied precise human anatomy, for various purposes, and she knew all of the sensitive spots on the body.

The wrist contained none of them.

The back of the ankle, the neck itself, right between each rib, between the rib cage's two halves, just underneath the collarbone-the bottom line, not anywhere near the wrist. Tsunade fitted her hands into the sign of the tiger.

"Release!" she commanded, dispelling any genjutsu in the area.

The bruises all over Kakashi's body told far too many tales.

OOOOOOOOO

"My sister did this to him," Kurenai said, looking over the bruises. "She looked for the most sensitive spots on his body, basically where he hates to be touched, and she hit them. It's part of the Yuuhi bloodline, to be able to see and strike with such accuracy."

Tsunade looked at Kurenai, who was sitting across from her. Kakashi was awake now and sitting in Tsunade's lap, putting up with her strokes and caresses for the time being. Tsunade knew he would push her off somehow at some point; Kakashi suspected it was more to comfort herself than him. "Than your sister must work for Orochimaru and/or the Akatsuki, more likely the former."

Kurenai shook her head. "I'm afraid it's worse than that." She looked fairly surprised at everyone's confused looks. "What? Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet!"

"But…_Yasu _did this," Kakashi said slowly. "She and Tayuya are the only females I know of who work for Orochimaru or the Akatsuki, and I've only come into contact with Yasu…" His eyes widened. "Then-that means-you and Yasu are-"

"We're half sisters," Kurenai confirmed. "I'm pure Yuuhi, she's half Yuuhi, half Kurosaki. My dad is her dad as well, and her mother is different than mine. Yasu is my younger sister, and she left home when she was fourteen. Our parents were hard on us, and discouraged our lives as shinobi. One day Yasu had just had enough. She pretended to suicide, and for a while, we all believed it. But then I went to…I forget where it was, and I saw her. I think it was up in snow country. Anyway, I knew then she was still alive. And she was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. At the time, though, she was still in training, under Hidan I believe. I was a full-fledged shinobi now; a jounin elite. And my parents despised me. The ninja and the political leaders of this land have always been on bad terms, and my family was very politically strong. My parents wanted my sister and I to be great Ladies and such; Daimyo, was the hope for my sister, because she did not take up ninja training until remarkable late for a ninja- ten years old! But when she did, she was mean-she was different. A Chuunin at twelve, and a jounin at fourteen. Not exactly a Hatake or an Uchiha, not a Hyuuga prodigy or anything like that, but still pretty good for a ninja. She was no ordinary kid.

"Then her bloodlines emerged.

"Our parents went nuts. They tried everything, but they could not get rid of her bloodlines or get her to give up her ninja dreams. One night, our mother took all her ninja things, locked her in her room with a bunch of political documents and left her there for at least a day. The next morning, they found her 'body' in a gruesome state-with a suicide note. It turns out, she had escaped with her ninja powers and cast an illusion, complete with a mind-cluttering jutsu on our parents. They really thought she had died, but the illusion was pretty pathetic. I kept my mouth shut, even though I knew, and then I went on a mission to Snow as my first jounin assignment. That was where I found her.

"And for those of you who's curiosity has yet to be satisfied, I broke away from my parents at fifteen, a year after my sister's escape. I rented my own apartment with the ninja money I made."

Tsunade shook her head in astonishment. "Amazing," she murmured. "She takes both clan's bloodlines?"

Kurenai nodded and pulled a scroll from her kunai pouch. "It's kind of like the seal the Hyuuga clan members use on the Branch family, and it's kind of like Orochimaru's curse seal. It binds and gives unimaginable power-but at a price."

"Keep going," Tsunade said. She discreetly checked Kakashi's pulse: she wouldn't put it past him to have fallen asleep in her lap. Kakashi was well known for falling asleep…wherever. Anywhere. Kakashi lifted his face gave her a look that clearly said, d_id you really think that I would fall asleep on you? _Tsunade smiled. He gave some of the most innocent looks…

"A tattoo-like seal will appear wherever the blood is fused, on both victim and master," Kurenai continued. "When activated, like Orochimaru's curse, the tattoo will 'spread' over the victim's body, giving them unimaginable power."

Tsunade frowned. "The catch?"

"The victim is required to relinquish their soul to a master. Once they fully accept their master, they will gain their power. However, if they refuse in the middle of the jutsu…" Kurenai paused. "They will both die!"

"So there's no way around this," Tsunade said. She moved Kakashi's body so that he was in a sitting position in front of her. Kakashi slouched against one of her knees, refusing to sit straight. Tsunade's hands began moving in circular motions over Kakashi's back, running over the bruised muscle. As she worked, Tsunade inspected Kakashi's injuries. They seemed superficial, but a closer look might be a good idea. She knew where Kakashi's personal sensitive spots were, and where he hated to be touched.

That was exactly where the bruises were.

Tsunade's hands began exploring Kakashi's lower back, and there seemed to be a lot of bruises there. Of course-Kakashi had never really liked anyone behind him, and especially down low, in the small of his back. Now, that portion of his back was littered with bruises, and Tsunade let healing chakra leak through to heal him.

Kakashi jumped.

Tsunade stood up, waiting for Kakashi to calm again. "What?"

Kakashi shook his head and sat down again. "Nothing."

Tsunade sighed. Kakashi had always been stubborn about these kinds of things-it was best to let him be. She slid her hands down again-

Kakashi arched his back and slid away.

_A hand dragged him down, fastening around his back and shoving him underneath a strong body-_

_He tried to move, but he was held by a vise-like grip-_

_A hand was pressed to his mouth, silencing his screams-_

Kakashi gasped and collapsed to his knees. Tsunade reached forward and pulled Kakashi into her arms. "Yasu?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"Itachi?"

He nodded. Tsunade exhaled and held Kakashi close to her. No wonder he was so traumatized! To have that done to you-it was unthinkable.

Tsunade realized that Itachi had tried to get Kakashi to submit to him, and when Kakashi had refused he had been harmed further.

Kakashi gently hitched his shoulders, trying to indicate to Tsunade which part of his back needed the most attention. Tsunade moved her hands up, and Kakashi quieted again.

"Open that for me, please," she said, tilting her head towards the scroll. Kurenai wordlessly rolled it out and placed it closer to Tsunade. Kakashi leaned forward, trying to see more clearly what was in the scroll.

"…it's a diagram."

"Yes," Kurenai said. "And it took me years to make. It's a map of the Yuuhi/Kurosaki bloodlines. First you see the Yuuhi's, then the Kurosaki's, and then both combined. Most of the bloodlines are doujutsu, but there is a taijutsu part that utilizes chakra."

"So basically there are no weaknesses." Tsunade made a face.

Kakashi slipped forward and peeked at the scroll.

"No," he said slowly. "Look again."

Kurenai sat next to him. "You're right," she said. "Look closely, Tsunade-sama," she said, motioning towards the combined bloodlines. "Here; the back of the head, at the nape of the neck."

"What?" Tsunade asked pulling Kakashi back so she could see. He settled against her shoulder and allowed her to put her arm around his shoulders. He was cold, so he may as well get some warmth from her. With the other hand, she pointed to a spot on the scroll.

"Here?"

Kakashi nodded. "A blind spot. All the way from the nape of the neck, to just below the shoulder blades."  
"So if we attack from behind-"

"We stand a much better chance than if we attacked from the front," Tsunade finished. "Okay, Einstein-make something up to go along with that theory."

"Won't work."

Kurenai shook her head. "No; it won't work. She's expecting that. She has adapted her fighting style to that as well. She spins as she fights, turning in a complete circle and releasing chakra along many points on her body at once. She does immense damage and protects herself at the same time. And through the rotations, you can't target a specific part of her body. That's why…up till now no one has ever injured her before!"

Tsunade gulped. She had been called the greatest ninja ever to live by some, and she was by far the top of the food chain, but even she had scars from battles and such. If this woman had never been wounded…they might have underestimated her.

Kakashi's exhale traveled across Tsunade's chest so lightly she barely noticed the change.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at Kakashi.

"I have a plan…"

**A/N: Haha. I left you hanging. I pretty much said everything I needed to say before, so if you missed it, go back and read it, it's important. Thank you everyone who reviewed and made this story such a success. Hugs: )**


	10. Chapter 9: Who do I love?

Chapter 9

Tsunade looked down to acknowledge Kakashi. "Okay, go."

Kakashi sat up and pointed to the scroll. "Since she's blind in the back, we'll play it cat-stalks-mouse. Since I'm the one she wants, I'll be the mouse. I'll come 'crawling out of a hole with my tail between my legs' and she'll go nuts for it. I'll play it up a little, get mushy and all. Put on the cute face, the one girls love, while a couple of you will surround her, unbeknownst to her. Create a couple of distractions off center and front: rattle some leaves overhead, or something. Her attention will be mainly on me, and her peripheral vision will be focused primarily on the distractions you guys are making in the treetops. Then, while she's a little off, the strongest of us will take her out from behind."

"That's a great plan, and all," Tsunade started, "but you'll probably get hurt, won't you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "She's obsessed with me already. All I have to do is get close to her and act scared and she'll be eating out of my lap."

Tsunade frowned. "I dunno…I mean, so many things could go wrong, and if she just grabs you and makes a run for it, we're all screwed."

Kakashi shrugged. "I'll make her chase me; kind of shy away. Ever seen someone try to calm down a nervous horse? She'll be trying to calm me down, I'll be backing up, and it'll take her a while to get to me. In the meantime, two or three of you will play the oafs and make some noise, and the rest will slam her from behind. Simple."

"Again; think of how many things could go wrong…"

"Are we doing this, or not?"

"It's not black ad white like that-"

"It is now. Are we doing this…or not?"

Tsunade looked to Kurenai. "Volunteers?"

Kurenai looked as if she couldn't make up her mind. "Well, I guess it's worth a shot, but…"

"But what?"

"If Kakashi stays with her for more than…ten minutes or so…she'll try again."

"How do you know?"

Kurenai lowered her head. "The Sakura Shintenshin!"#

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu paced her room, frustrated. Itachi was making dinner, trying to regain favor with his leader.

"Pacing, Yasu-sama, isn't going to help much," Itachi said, pouring white rice into two bowls. "He simply isn't going to come back, and by now they must have him in the hospital under the guard of six dozen ANBU black ops. You failed the sealing, so now they know what you're after. There's no way around it." He spread vegetables and several chunks of meat over the top and began hunting for an extra pair of chopsticks. "You have to accept that, move on, and find another love."

Yasu shrugged as Itachi emerged from a cabinet under a drawer with another pair if chopsticks. "I've been thinking about that for a while, and-I dunno," she said. Itachi pushed both pairs of chopsticks into the bowls and set them down on the small table Yasu had plunked down in front of. "Do what you want, but I wouldn't recommend getting into Sasori or Deidara."

Yasu's eyebrows rose. "Dare may I ask-?"

"No, you may not," Itachi replied evenly. "Um, as non-perverted sounding as I can make this, their room is right next door…and I hear things."

"Ouch," Yasu said. Frankly, she was amused.

"Apparently so, for Deidara," Itachi muttered.

Yasu smiled and gingerly tasted a bit of the food.

"Wow," she said, surprised. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"I copied my mom one night," Itachi grunted, somewhat embarrassed at the compliment. Yasu shook her head.

"You're incredible."

"I know."

Yasu finished her meal in silence. Itachi, in turn, said nothing as well. He wordlessly took her empty bowl and chopsticks and placed them in the sink along with his own. He washed his hands, found a scroll and a pen, and sat down at a small desk against the wall. Yasu saw a small book lying on the coffee table and picked it up.

The cover was black with a single kanji in the bottom right hand corner that read "simplicity." A red satin bookmark fell through the middle, showing where the writer had last put pen to paper. Yasu, curiosity awakened, sat down slowly with the book and opened the cover.

The first page was blank, and had no writing whatsoever, not even a name. Yasu quickly turned the next page, eager to see what lay beyond the next page.

It was clearly a diary.

Words stripped themselves off the pages and threw themselves at Yasu with anger at never being released before. It was amazing to Yasu to discover that Uchiha Itachi actually had emotions. There was a picture taped to the first page, above the entry. It was a picture of the Uchiha family: the baby of the family, Sasuke, barely six years old and standing in front of Itachi, at thirteen, and already mature beyond his years. Sasuke had several siblings alongside him, Itachi and a sister in back of them, and their proud parents in the back. Yasu's eyes glazed over the picture, barely taking in what it was before reading the entry, written in an averagely neat scrawl: to be expected of a teenage boy to not really care.

_ I'm ashamed of myself for trying to "put my thoughts down on paper" just because Mother says I should. Pretty sad, given she'll be dead tomorrow. I'm still not sure about Sasuke, though…wait for him to come home, leave him…? I don't know anymore. I might actually care for him, though…I'll be killing them at about the time he goes off for training, too…kill him before he gets there? Leave him? Let him go, kill them, and go before he gets back…? Actually, that's a good idea. He'll leave, I'll kill them, get my Mangekyou, leave, he'll come back, see everyone dead, and run to a friend's or something. I'll be home free, we all live happily ever after._

_The end._

Yasu turned the page.

_I killed them. I killed them all. They're all dead, and my hands are painted with their blood forever, like fingerprints on glass. You cannot wipe them away, no matter how hard you try, and they will always be there to haunt you, until you hate your own reflection and just completely lose it. And the Mangekyou now burns over my eyes, cruel and punishing for any fool who dares cross me. I almost can't believe I pulled it off; Sasuke got home early and saw me kill the last of them. Stupid boy, he tried to run._

_I almost killed him._

_Almost._

_But then I realized that the death I would die would be a humiliating one, and since nothing but the Mangekyou can defeat me now, no one could ever defeat me. But eventually, I would grow old. Embarrassingly, humiliatingly old. And then I would die an embarrassing death of old age: a humiliating death for a shinobi. And that would be simply unbearable: even suicide takes less honor than dying of old age, so I left one alive, the only one who could ever achieve the Mangekyou to begin with. The only one in my generation who showed trace of the Sharingan at such a young age. He will become a legend, a feared shinobi everywhere. He will be a village's dream come true of power, and he will rule shinobi everywhere with an iron fist, as cold and cruel as mine._

_And then, when he is the strongest, and only then-_

_I will die at my brother, Sasuke's hands._

"What are you reading?" Itachi asked sharply. Yasu abruptly looked up.

"Give me that," Itachi said gruffly, yanking the book out of Yasu's hands. Yasu smirked and stood out, hands slightly outstretched. "I think that's sweet, leaving your little brother, whatever your purpose." Itachi shivered as Yasu's hands traced his hips. "I like sensitivity in a man," she whispered, pressing up to Itachi's body.

"Well, then," Itachi replied, trying to keep his tone flat and even. "I'm probably not your type."

Itachi regretted taking off his cloak now: he had been sweating, he was so hot, and taken it off, but now he felt…vulnerable. His half-fishnet shirt did little to shield him from Yasu's touches. He had also taken off his shoes and the bandages covering his lower legs. Itachi jumped at the feel of Yasu's hands stroking his stomach, and he tried to slide away. Yasu smirked; she had always been good at making people move…

"We shouldn't-" he started weakly, but Yasu cut him off.

"Don't lie to me, Itachi" she said quietly. Her own cloak dropped to the floor with a soft whisper of fabric. "Don't pretend you don't want to."

Itachi sighed. "I know I shouldn't be doing this, but…" He reached forward and kissed Yasu, completely giving in to her.

At first she was a bit surprised; this was not at all what she had expected from Itachi. _Itachi has a soft side, _she thought. _Ha-ha, Itachi-you _are _sweet._

Yasu could feel Itachi testing her lips, and she decided she would allow him to French her. Hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Itachi smoothly slipped his tongue into her mouth with enthusiasm, and Yasu began to kiss him back. Itachi seemed mildly surprised that Yasu would challenge him for position of aggressor, but he quickly adjusted to the change and began waging open war.

A sharp bite to Itachi's lower lip shocked him out of Yasu's mouth momentarily, and he retreated to himself. Yasu immediately took over, and shoved into Itachi's mouth, completely overpowering him. Itachi could feel bruises rising under Yasu's hands and lips, and she was becoming more and more aggressive as she went.

When he was finally released and allowed to breath, Itachi gasped between pants, "So that's how you wanna play, huh? You like it rough? Okay, then-that's how we'll play it!"

Yasu and Itachi fell to Itachi's bed, stripping along the way.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade slipped into Kakashi's room as quietly as possible. She didn't want to wake him if he was asleep.

"No, I'm awake," Kakashi sighed, sitting up. "Whatcha got?"

"Food," she said, setting down a bowl of rice. "You're probably not very hungry, and your stomach is probably upset, so I just put in a couple vegetables and some meat."

"Thanks."

Tsunade sat down on the edge of the bed, next to Kakashi. "You okay?" she asked, resting her hand on his back.

Kakashi nodded wordlessly, slipped down his mask and began to eat. Tsunade stood.

"I have to go to the hospital this afternoon. Iruka has the day off, and he says he wouldn't mind coming over to check on you every few hours if you don't mind. Personally, I think it would be good for you both-he keeps a cool head, and if he still doesn't…_dislike _you for the Chuunins a couple years ago, you should be okay. But he said he didn't mind if you didn't."

"I don't mind if he doesn't," Kakashi shrugged. "I'll probably just sleep anyway."

Tsunade nodded. "All right. I'll send him over to check on you in a little while; just after I leave, I think, and then a couple times before I get back. Okay?"

Kakashi nodded his assent and thanks and simply prayed everything would go smoothly.

**A/N: # I will explain this next chapter. Bare with me for a little while and everything will clear up! For all those who are reading this and care, my grandma is getting better, but since she has asthma and all sorts of allergies it might take a while for her to get out of the hospital. Sorry for the delays, but I really want to spend time with her there, because she is a really awesome grandma. Thanks for being so patient, and there will be a dedication next chapter. The winner will get his or her own one-shot! Anything but the pairings in my profile are acceptable, any genre, whatever. Thanks again, you guys! Hugs!!!**


	11. Chapter 10: Nightmare

Chapter 10 

Kakashi woke up freezing.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around, curiosity awakened. Funny-he remembered being rescued, and Tsunade had just put him in her bed to sleep-so why was he _here_?

Chains encircled his neck, wrists, and ankles, holding him fast to the wet ground. Kakashi tried them, but they held fast. Again with this crap! But…what had happened? Surely he would have woken up if someone had tried to recapture him…and what about Tsunade? Maybe that was all a dream, and he was still in this hellhole…

Footsteps sounded, so lightly, that at first, Kakashi could barely hear them. They halted just a foot away from him, and a dark figure knelt down next to his head.

"Got you back," the person whispered. "I'm glad. That 'Hokage' is so clueless." An icy hand traveled across Kakashi's face, and he gave a small mewl of terror when he realized who it was. He was surprised; this time, he had not been gagged or blindfolded. What was the meaning of all of this?

Itachi leaned over and kissed him through the mask, gently caressing his face. "You little brat," he murmured. "You really are a nasty one, sneaking out like that. Well! It won't happen again."

Kakashi looked up in fear, already envisioning the terrors Itachi had in store for him. He began to tremble uncontrollably, and Itachi smiled as he felt this.

"What's wrong?" he asked, cold hands still stroking Kakashi's face. "Scared?"

"Let me go," Kakashi whimpered, trying to slide out from under Itachi's hands.

"Oh, come now," Itachi said, holding Kakashi down. "You know you want this."

"No!" Or had he said yes? Kakashi yelped as a hand descended to his stomach, and Itachi couldn't help but laugh now.

"You're most amusing when you are in pain," he murmured, slowly drawing a kunai. "Don't worry-soon I'll have you crying out in pain."

Kakashi felt muscle tear and rip from where Itachi had shoved the kunai into his shoulder. He gave a short scream of pain and yanked again the chains holding him down. Itachi twisted the kunai, and Kakashi quieted with a small whimper, afraid of injuring himself further.

"Good boy," Itachi said quietly, removing the kunai. Kakashi trembled as the weapon was withdrawn, and agony again exploded as Itachi roughly yanked it out of his shoulder.

"Scream for me," Itachi whispered. "It is my name alone you should speak."

"Get away!" Kakashi screamed, lashing out against Itachi. "Leave me alone!"

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi sat bolt upright in bed. His sides were streaked with blood and sweat from where he had been tossing and turning in the nightmare, reopening several wounds. The sweat stung as it dripped into his wounds, and Kakashi found that his mask was gone.

"Kakashi, calm down!"

Kakashi's chest heaved, but he resisted the urge to lie back and turned to look at whoever had awoken him and saved him from himself.

"Tsunade-sama…I-"

"Kakashi, are you okay?" Tsunade cried. Her hands moved to his sides, checking the wounds. "You were screaming so hard I thought someone was killing you!"

Kakashi shook his head, and Tsunade pulled him into her lap. She reached over his back and pulled the sheets up over his body and began to rub his arms, trying to warm him up. "Are you okay?"

Kakashi exhaled softly against her chest and shook his head. Tsunade gently kissed him and settled back against the headboard of the bed.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Please."

Tsunade remembered one time, when she was young, only about four years old, she had had a nightmare and went into her parent's room. Her mother had let her sleep in her lap that night, and Tsunade would never forget it. Now, she repeated her mother's actions, and allowed Kakashi to sleep against her shoulder the rest of the night.

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu was bored.

There was absolutely nothing to do. Everyone except her and Itachi were out on missions, and the only reason Yasu and Itachi were still there was because they were tired. Personally, Yasu thought wrestling with Itachi for position of seme was fun. She had just wanted to give him a hard time, and it was well worth it for the sex she got. But now they were both exhausted. Itachi was dozing on and off, and Yasu was holding the missing-nin in her lap and stroking him like a domestic pet. In a way, he _did _belong t her-now that they were a couple, things might be a bit different between them. Itachi could probably get away with more, and Yasu would probably be challenged less.

"Yasu-sama?"

Yasu looked down and brushed a long lock of black hair out of Itachi's face. "What?"

"I think Kakashi's close."

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade watched, apprehensive, as Kakashi darted through the trees, teasing in and out of sight. Tsunade knew Kakashi was purposely trying to draw attention-specifically Yasu's. Tsunade waited as he pulled to a stop right in front of her, then reached out and drew him into her chest.

Kakashi returned the embrace, but only for a moment. Tsunade was forced to relinquish him after only a few fleeting seconds.

"Go," Kakashi said softly. Tsunade remained where she was, unsure.

"Go!" Kakashi said again, stronger this time. "You have to get out of here, for my sake. Just go; I'll be fine!"

Tsunade hesitated, then reached forward and gently kissed him through the mask. "Fine," she said quietly. "But I swear, I will never be more than a few yards away."

Kakashi nodded and slid away. "Go now," he whispered. "I hear someone."

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu leaped through the trees tops, sharp eyes scanning the ground below.

"Lady Yasu!"

Yasu pulled up smoothly next to Itachi. "There," he said, pointing down. Yasu followed Itachi's line of vision into the undergrowth. Her eyes moved quickly across the grass, shrubs, and rocks, finally coming to rest on one particular figure:

The injured Hatake Kakashi.

Blood slowly seeped from a gash across the jounin's side. It didn't look that serious, but Kakashi was clearly in pain. Yasu wordlessly jumped out of the tree, landing a few feet away from Kakashi.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi shot backwards, smacking the tree with full force. Yasu darted forward and caught him as he fell, holding him close to her body.

A sharp intake of breath was made against her chest, and Kakashi pushed against her. "Lemme go!"

He shoved at her furiously, and Yasu suddenly felt the sting of blood rising to the surface as Kakashi raked his fingernails across her face, chest, and arms.

"Itachi, get his hands."

Infuriated, Kakashi drew back a fist and punched Yasu hard in the stomach. Now Yasu had really had enough; in turn, she whirled, pinning Kakashi to a tree by the neck.

"Don't fight," she said. A small whimper of pain slid forth from the back of Kakashi's throat, and Yasu released him, letting him fall into her body. She could feel Kakashi shuddering against her shoulder, and pulled back slightly to see his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sliding her hand under Kakashi's chin and lifting his face. "Did something happen?"

Kakashi lifted his left hand to the ninja headband covering his Sharingan. He felt Yasu lift her head from the stretch of muscles in her upper chest and swiftly lifted his headband, shoving at Yasu and ducking out of her arms. "Tsunade-sama! Now!"

Yasu wheeled the second she felt Kakashi move, but even that was too late. Tsunade had leaped down, picked up Kakashi, and sprang away.

"Shit!"

Tsunade pulled up short to avoid running into the blur of black and red that had just appeared right in front of her. Tsunade whipped back and forth, searching desperately for an escape route.

She found none.

All around her, black and red swirled into existence, obliterating all chances of escape. Kakashi carefully peeled himself off of Tsunade, hands forming the sign of the tiger. The Akatsuki was immediately on their guard; hands strayed to kunai pouches and shuriken holsters, while others began the first signs of a jutsu.

"Release!"

The wound in Kakashi's side vanished immediately.

"A genjutsu?" Deidara cried. "No way!"

"Yes, way," Tsunade said. She turned to Kakashi. "Fight or flee?"

Kakashi glanced around. "I dunno…"

"You cannot be serious," Itachi muttered. "It's a pain, dealing with rats, but I guess I can deal with one to get to the prize." He gave Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori a look. "Sic 'em."

Sasori took a puppet off his back, connecting his chakra strings in a flash. Deidara's fingers were suddenly laced with kunai, and Itachi's Mangekyou glared harshly at Tsunade.

"Well, little brat?" he asked, striding towards Tsunade with a slow, taunting step. "I can pound you now, or you can surrender and keep your life. And if I'm _really _in a good mood, I'll chain you both to the same wall."

"You are a disgrace to shinobi!" Tsunade cried, reaching behind her. "I am the Hokage, and it is my responsibility as Hokage to protect that honor, that all shinobi carry! And it is also my job t protect my shinobi subordinates, and I will do both if it costs me my life!" Kakashi watched as she shoved a small pill down the back of her throat. "And I don't take crap from kids like you." She turned to Kakashi, grinning broadly.

"Ready?"

Kakashi gave her a weak smile in return. "Come on," she said in a tone that implied she had something up her sleeve.

"Yeah…" Kakashi said slowly. "I'll hold, and you punch."

"Fair," Tsunade said lightly. "I pick…Blondie."

"One…"

"Two…"

"THREE!!!"

A/N: My grandma is getting a lot better; she'll probably be able to come home this week. Thanks for waiting so patiently, everyone! Okay, dedication! Drum roll, please! Drum roll Okay, thanks. And the winner is…Valinor's Twilight!!! She put something in for every chapter, and she's a great friend. As winner of the dedication, she gets her own free one-shot! Anything you want, except the pairings listed in my profile are fine. Let me know what you want in a review or PM me. Thanks for everyone who reviewed; I'll have a dedication every ten chapters. Thanks again everyone!!!


	12. Chapter 11: Die Another Day

Chapter 11 

Chakra burst out around Tsunade's hands and she charged forward, fingers curled under in a fist and raised.

"Cover me!" she shouted to Kakashi. The jounin wordlessly obeyed, darting after her and reflecting all attacks launched back upon the user.

"Kisame! Left and go!" Itachi yelled.

"Right!" Kisame swung back his massive sword and charged like a mad bull, fully prepared to chop Kakashi in half. Kakashi turned and slashed at the sword with a kunai.

Without warning, an arm fastened around Kakashi's neck. His own arms were suddenly pinned to his sides, and someone seemed hell bent on keeping it that way. Kakashi froze, unsure of what to do.

"Nobody move!"

The entire battle stopped cold and looked around, trying to see where their teammates were.

"Lady, away from Deidara."

Tsunade's chakra openly flared, then died down as she took several steps back.

"No matter what happens, do not move. Or I will snap his neck like a twig."

Tsunade was shaking with rage as Hidan, Sasori, and Deidara came up on her sides.

"Dude, is she gonna, like, kill me if I touch her, un?"

"No, Deidara, she'll just roast you like a French fry," Sasori replied sarcastically.

"No, no! Not at all!" Hidan protested. "She's gonna pummel you into pudding!"

Tsunade's face spread into a wicked grin. "I like pudding."

"No, she's just gonna kill me, un. But I bet she'll stab me-"

"What are you doing?!" Tsunade shouted. "Are you doing anything, or are you just letting me screw you?"

"Ummmmm…"

Tsunade sighed. "This is _so _not what was supposed to happen."

"You're right," Zetsu said plainly. "So while the Three Stooges are entertaining us, I'll just move things along according to _our _plan." Zetsu yanked Tsunade's wrists behind her back and tied her. Tsunade's face twisted into a grimace of pain as the coarse ropes bit into her flesh.

"You must really want your money's worth, huh?" she grunted, arching her back. There was a sharp crack of flesh hitting flesh, enough to make Kakashi cringe for Tsunade as a palm was thrown across her face. Tsunade spat on Hidan, apparently the person who had slapped her.

"Very ladylike," he drawled, wiping the spit out of his eye. He drew back his hand again, ready to hit her harder this time.

"Hidan!"

Hidan slowly turned, carefully lowering his fist. "Yasu-sama?" he asked, perplexed.

"Let her go," Yasu said flatly. "Itachi can deal with her."

Hidan hesitated. "Okay, then" he said slowly. "If you say so." He, Deidara, Sasori, and Zetsu slowly backed away from the hot-tempered Kage. Itachi shoved Kakashi at them without batting an eye and seized Tsunade's upper arms.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere," Yasu said dismissively. She noticed Deidara moving towards a trembling Kakashi and smoothly stepped in front of him. She took Kakashi into her own arms and held him against her chest. The jounin begrudgingly allowed her, knowing that he had to keep her happy. "Screw her, pass her off to Orochimaru, let Kabuto use her, I don't care. As long as she's learning a lesson and she's not dead." Itachi nodded and turned back to Tsunade.

She wasn't there.

"Itachi!" Hidan shouted. "Behind you!"

"You're late, Uchiha!"

A fist pounded into Itachi's back with enough force to break a stone wall. _No way! Then how did she-? _Blood spurted from Itachi's mouth as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Tsunade stood, legs spread, glaring at Yasu with burning brown eyes.

"You have six seconds to let him go and get ten feet away from him."

Yasu tightened her grip on Kakashi, much to the jounin's dismay, immediately on her guard. "And if I don't?"

"If you don't I will pound you into the ground six feet deep."

Chakra began to flame along Tsunade's hands, blue glow growing and growing until it illuminated Tsunade's entire body.

"Time to play can opener!"

There was no time to react; within the second, Tsunade had disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a faint aura of chakra. Yasu looked around frantically. _The Body Flicker-?_

Yasu felt vital muscle cleanly severed as the side of a palm hit her squarely between the shoulder blades. Blood spilled from the wound, staining Tsunade's hands a deep crimson. Yasu's body began to shake, and Kakashi felt her grip begin to loosen at last. He waited until she had completely given out to free himself from her oppressive grip.

"Just for the record," he shouted. "I'll die another day!"

Tsunade swung around, chakra vapors flying off of her body, and charged, on a direct collision course with Deidara. The blonde missing-nin looked around for an exit-

-And found none.

Desperate, he hurled several kunai at Tsunade. The kunai only hit a log, and Deidara instinctively looked up. _A substitution! _Tsunade plummeted down, three kunai in her hand, aiming for Deidara's back. At the corner of her eye, Tsunade saw blue lightning suddenly unleashed in the fury of the Raikiri. She kept going, chakra blazing.

Pain exploded in Tsunade's stomach.

For the barest instant, she had taken her attention from Deidara and focused it on Kakashi, and now she had paid the price. At least seven kunai were embedded in her stomach, and already Tsunade could feel herself falling unconscious.

Time itself slowed down for the late Hokage of the Leaf.

"Tsunade!"

Was that Kakashi? Or was it Shizune, hiding with the rest of the Konoha ninja she had brought along? It might even be Itachi, who had simply lost it in the moment. Or maybe it was no one at all, and Tsunade was already dying. It could also be the Nine-tails kid, Naruto-the one who claimed to be Hokage after her.

Naruto… 

Tsunade could hear her own heart…

I guess I'll die another day  
I guess I'll just die another day  
I guess I'll die another day  
I guess I'll just die another day

Presences sprang up around the sannin, but she barely felt them. Instead, her hands shook as she tried one last time to prove herself to her village.

__

I think I'll find another way  
There's so much more to know  
I guess I'll die another day  
It's not my time to go

Naruto had saved her once…but she couldn't leave him alone in that village! With only Jiraiya as company…ouch.

Her hands continued to shake as she pressed them into the sign of the tiger.

For every sin I'll have to pay  
I've come to work, I've come to play  
I think I'll find another way  
It's not my time to go

"Genesis…Res…ur…rection…!"

The tiny purple seal on Tsunade's forehead began to flame and swirl. Tendrils snaked from the original mark, sending out bursts of light. The kunai fell from Tsunade's body, wounds hissing and smoking. The cuts closed over, and Tsunade slowly pushed herself to her feet.

"I'm not finished with you punks yet."

I guess I'll die another day  
I guess I'll just die another day  
I guess I'll die another day  
I guess I'll just die another day

"De…nied…"

The Akatsuki began to turn in circles, bewildered and panicking at Tsunade's newly revealed power.

"What, you think I'm Hokage for nothing?!!" she screeched. "Well, here's a trick I was meaning to play on Jiraiya…but here's a sneak preview!"

A ring of Konoha ninja dropped down around the Akatsuki; ANBU black ops, red ops, jounin, the Elite Twelve- each and every one of the ninja Tsunade had summoned at the beginning of the setup.

"It's on."

**A/N: Sorry this is kinda short. We just got my grandma back into the house, back from the hospital, so things have been a little hectic around here. But hey, she's back!!! Thanks for everyone who showed concern, and thanks for being so patient. The song lyrics are part of "Die Another day" by Madonna. I found it on Youtube and thought it was such a Tsunade song and it was great for this scene. (Disclaimer-I don't own it.) Thanks for reading everyone, and please review!!!**


	13. Chapter 12: Glare

Chapter 12 

Tsunade grinned and pushed herself up. "Who's ready to kick some serious ass?"

"Tsunade-sama..?"

Tsunade turned towards the tentative voice. "What, Kakashi?"

The jounin swallowed and stood up. "I smell ninja. They're foreign. And…I smell a weasel."

Tsunade's eyes widened. _They've-!_

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

_Huh?!_

A teenager of about seventeen soared overhead on a giant fan. Three purple circles decorated the pleated, cream-colored steel of the Sunaga nin's weapon as she landed and took the fan into hand. She had four spiky blonde pigtails, glowing turquoise eyes, and a Sunaga headband dangling from her neck. Her purple dress was tied with a loose red sash, loose enough for her to slip her fan into when it was not in use.

"Temari…!"

The girl turned to the sputtering Chuunin and grinned broadly. "Long time no see…Shikamaru."

Tsunade looked up at Temari. "What are you doing here? Why is Sunaga getting involved in this? And _where _is that weasel you just summoned?!"

"Shredding the Akatsuki headquarters."

Tsunade smiled. "Lovely."

"Temari, we didn't come here to mess around, let's get what we need and go," grouched a redhead from behind Temari. Sand swirled around him from a cracked gourd on his back.

"Greetings, Gaara!" exclaimed an enthusiastic boy in green spandex. Gaara simply quirked an eyebrow and flicked a finger. Sand whipped over the Akatsuki, causing some to slowly back away.

"Ready Crow?"

"Seriously, Kankuro, the face paint…?"

"Well, well, well, it's the Inuzuka shrimp. I see your puppy's all grown up too," Kankuro mocked.

"Yeah, Akamaru's a big boy now," Kiba said, ingoring the insult and affectionately ruffling his huge dog's fur.

"And lookie, here! It's bug boy!" Kankuro continued, turning to Shino. "Once we're finished here, I want a rematch!"

"Fair," Shino replied. "But only if you work with me now."

"Fair," Kankuro grunted. "Little Hyuuga-call it."

Hinata blushed. "Me?" she asked shyly, with a small giggle.

"Yeah, you," Kankuro said. "What's your name, anyway?"

"H-Hinata," Hinata replied quietly with a blush. Kankuro nodded.

"Call it."

The heiress's bloodline emerged, blood vessels popping and eyes flashing white.

"Go!!"

Kankuro pulled the ties on his puppet, connecting his chakra strings even faster than that. The puppet charged like a bull at Kankuro's command, poison-tipped knives exposed.

"Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

A blast of wind shattered the forest's unearthly calm, and blades of wind began to slash at the trees, neatly cutting branches to pieces. The Konoha ninja attacked viciously, going at the Akatsuki with all weapons drawn and jutsus prepared.

"Get out of here!" Yasu cried. "We have no shot! There are too many and Itachi's down! We have to get out of here!"

"What about Itachi?" someone called. Yasu whipped around, gazing at her fallen comrade and lover.

_So this is what it truly is to be a shinobi…_

"We have to leave him!"

"_What?!!"_

"We have no-gack!"

Wind chakra and trench knives cut across a back, slicing through muscle and tendon. Zetsu collapsed, green-blue blood spilling from several large wounds on his back, staggering, and struggling to fight the wind phantom that had dealt him a fatal blow. Yasu gasped and looked around. _Okay, now would be a great time for a miracle to happen!_

There was no miracle, but Tsunade decided she could settle for a hostage and started towards Itachi. Yasu grabbed Hidan's wrist and jerked him through the gap Tsunade had unwittingly opened. The rest of the Akatsuki followed her, Sasori dragging Zetsu, who was doing his best to keep up.

"Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Asuma and Kurenai, follow them! Team 8, go with them and take 'em out! Kakashi-choose now! Sand nin, stay here!"

"I'll-" Kakashi faltered. "I guess I'll…" He took a deep breath. "I'll go."

Tsunade looked up. "You sure?"

Kakashi nodded and pulled a scroll out of his jacket. He yanked the end free, trailing blood from a bleeding finger across it. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Kanji spilled out of the scroll onto the branch it had been slammed down upon. Several enormous dogs appeared out of plumes of smoke, snapping and snarling. Spit and foam flew from their sharp fangs, an razor-sharp nails sliced at the branches. Kakashi readied his Sharingan and sprang ahead of the dogs. They followed him obediently, although still sniffing and barking alternatively. Tsunade watched them disappear into the foliage, then sighed and concentrated on Itachi with what little of her original force was left.

"Shall we kick him until he's awake?"

"Sure, why not?" Genma drawled, spitting out his toothpick into his hand. He gave it a cursory glance, and then stuck it back between his teeth. Tsunade saw a devilish grin on Anko's face.

"Hehe, sounds like fun. I call dibs on the first shot!"

"Feel free," one of the ANBU muttered, stepping out of a tree.

"Oh, shame," Gaara said, appearing next to Itachi in a swirl of sand. "I was dying to crush him."

"Gaara, watch it," Kankuro warned. "This one is a Kage, just like you. And her medical ninjutsu is almost as good against your sand as that Uchiha kid's Chidori was."

"Stop fighting," Temari growled, jumping off her fan. "Or I'll smack you both over the head with my little pet here."

"_Somebody_ do _something_!"

Anko's wicked grin spread even further. "Well, if you insist." She waltzed up to Itachi's side and landed a kick on the missing-nin's bleeding side. She received a grunt of pain as her foot slipped partly into a wound and came back out almost as bloody as the wound itself. The next time, she kicked him harder. Now, Itachi gave a sarcastic whine and a "Make it _stoooooooooop_," but still no effort on Itachi's part to get to his feet.

"Oh, for God's sake, you!" Anko yanked Itachi up by the back of his cloak and punched him. Hard. Hard enough for the Uchiha to reel backwards from the impact. Itachi finally fell onto his stomach. He pushed himself up a bit, then coughed out a mouthful of blood.

"I take it I'm screwed?"

Anko nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're pretty much dead meat."

Itachi sighed and let his shoulders fall to the side, away from the blood he had spit up. "Everything hurts…"

"Good. Now get up, and get moving!"

Itachi flopped lazily onto his back. "No thanks, I'll just stay here."

Anko kicked him again, this time producing a pained yelp. "Up. _Now."_

Itachi gave them a horrendous glare that quickly turned into the Mangekyou. "Back off, Lady."

Tsunade sighed. "Glad you think so. We'll do this the hard way, then."

Blue chakra lined Tsunade's hands again. Itachi turned to Tsunade, Sharingan blazing like the sun. Tsunade's hands blurred, flying up and flashing at Itachi's face. Itachi threw up his hands to shield himself-

Tsunade's hands fastened over Itachi's wrists, chakra scalpel slicing through flesh and bone. Itachi gasped in pain, then bit his lips to keep himself from crying out. He refused to give Tsunade that pleasure!

"Going to be quiet, now are we?" Anko taunted, leaning over and cupping Itachi's face in her hands. "I'll have to change that. Come on, don't be so shy; you have a beautiful voice." Anko released him and jumped out of Tsunade's way.

Itachi had no time to kick out before Tsunade clamped her hands down on his ankles, snapping the bone and severing the tendon. But Itachi didn't move; he was almost afraid to, and he was certainly apprehensive about it. He couldn't use his hands or feet, he couldn't defend himself, and his chakra was almost depleted. He released the Mangekyou in hopes of preserving what little chakra he had left.

"Brat," Tsunade spat, straightening. The chakra disappeared from her hands, and she reached down to grip Itachi's upper arms.

"Now move it!"

Itachi remained where he was.

"You broke both my ankles, fool!"

Tsunade sighed. "You're a very difficult child, you know that?"

"I'm not a child, and I'm not being difficult!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and sighed again. Her hands were now edged with green chakra, and she wrapped them around Itachi's ankles. The bleeding missing-nin grunted in pain as the newly severed muscles knit back together again, and his legs twitched with agony. Tsunade finished and grabbed his wrists.

"You are a very difficult little child," she repeated as she healed his wrists. Itachi sighed and waited on his knees, for Tsunade's next move, giving her a horrible glare at the same time.

"You got a problem?" she snapped, seeing Itachi's look.

"With you calling me a child, yes."

Tsunade stared, murder in her eyes.

Itachi shivered.

_She glares like a basilisk._

Tsunade smirked and yanked Itachi's hands behind his back. "Play nice and you won't die. Pull anything stupid you're screwed. Any questions, no, good."

Itachi made a face, but allowed himself to be tied and kicked to his feet. Anko seemed more than happy to take his upper arms in a firm grip and shove him forward.

"Chicks," Itachi muttered.

He earned himself a slap for that.

**A/N: I really hope Itachi is IC…it just seems better if he's biting someone, but I'm not sure… . Tell me if anyone is OOC, there are probably a couple. If anyone wants to see someone or something, you can PM me. I know I've told you this before but no one sent me anything so…yeah, just letting you know you can. Thanks again everyone!!!**


	14. Chapter 13: Shinobi Iniquity

**Yay!!! Over a thousand hits!!! Thank you everyone!!!**

Chapter 13

"Byakugan!"

"Well, Hinata?" Kiba asked, stopping next to the Hyuuga.

"I see them," Hinata replied, scanning the forest with her bloodline. "They're barely ahead of us, and they've stopped to rest."

Kurenai nodded. She had been appointed unofficial leader of the mission, and therefore everyone reported to her. "Do you want to stop, too? Does anyone need to rest?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Okay, then, let's go!"

Asuma cocked his trench knives and sprang up into the trees, Kurenai at his side. The rest of the ninja fanned out behind them, fully prepared for battle.

OOOOOOOOO

A smirk spread across thin lips, lighting up golden eyes.

"Well? What do you think?"

A pair of small shoulders shrugged innocently. "I say…choose a side, now."

Raven hair slid forward over a paper-white face as the sannin leaned forward for a better look at the ninja below. "Very well," he said slowly. "Akatsuki, of course."

A silver ponytail waved as the boy nodded his assent. "Fine. When will you make your move?"

"…Now."

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu kept running, praying her clones and genjutsu would hold. She had stopped briefly to heal Zetsu, then each member of the Akatsuki left a clone of themselves to slow down the Konoha nin and possibly buy Yasu and her team more time.

"Damn," she muttered. "Stop making so much noise!" she called back. Tree leaves were rustling, branches were snapping, and both leaves and branches were falling from trees.

"Either you're really clumsy ninja or someone is trying to draw our attention," she said. "Which is it?"

"It's not us," Hidan said nervously. "I'm barely touching this tree!"

"Then…who-?"

Yasu skidded to a halt, looking up towards the sounds. "Come out, coward!" she screamed into the trees. "Come out and fight like a man, lest you take our side!"

"Yasu, Yasu, Yasu." The voice came from above her.

Yasu started. _That voice-!_

"You…why are you here?"

"Don't be so rude to one of your own." Orochimaru continued. "You have something I want, and undoubtedly I have something you want."

Yasu's eyes narrowed. "Keep talking, snake."

"Orochimaru-sama!!"

Orochimaru turned to the silver-haired teen who had just jumped down from the branch above Orochimaru. "What, Kabuto?"

"Tayuya's in a fit, Jiroubou's in trouble with her, and Sakon now hates me."

"That's nothing new, but I sense there is something else. What?"

Kabuto's chest heaved and sweat dripped down his face. Orochimaru realized he must have been running hard and fast. "Kimimaro's gone."

Orochimaru sighed. "What happened?"

"He said something about shredding something, Konoha, you, and then he took off. I have no idea where he went, but he might have caught a scent-"

"Who's that little brat after, us?"

Kurenai stood on a tree branch, tossing a kunai into the air. "Nice to see you again," she drawled, flicking her wrist. The kunai sailed through the air to strike a tree next to Orochimaru's head.

"And you," the snake murmured. His tongue flicked in and out of his mouth, tasting the air and searching for a scent.

"Ah…" He turned to Kabuto. "There are many more of them. Watch yourself."

Kabuto nodded and pressed his back to Orochimaru's. "Don't move for a second."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

Orochimaru hissed in warning, but otherwise complied. Kabuto shifted his weight, then abruptly sprang away.

"Kabuto?"

Orochimaru tried to turn to the boy-

But couldn't.

"Brat! What did you do?!"

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said lightly. "But I was using you as bait to lure out the rest of them. I'll free you in a moment."

"Kabuto, you'll pay for this!"

"Even if I deal with Manda myself for a week?"

Orochimaru paused. "Make that two."

Kabuto smirked and began counting weapons. _Okay-smoke bomb, light bomb, darkness bomb, twelve feet of wire, twenty kunai in various places, and fifteen shuriken. Should be enough for what I'm planning…chakra enhancers, healing potions, injections, pills…I'm good. Orochimaru-sama, it pains me to see you prisoner, it really does, please, just don't hurt yourself, I'd never forgive myself-_

"Shikamaru, now!"

A shadow hand skated up Orochimaru's body to wrap its ghastly phantom fingers around his neck.

"Shadow Neck Bind!"

Shikamaru emerged from behind a tree, hands in the sign of the rat. "Gotcha," he said with a smirk. "Anybody move, I snap his neck!"

"Gee, where have I heard _that _before?" Yasu muttered. Then she sighed and faced Shikamaru, watching Orochimaru out of the corners of her eyes. "Terms, Nara."

"Unconditional surrender."

"May I ask for one condition?" Yasu asked, trying to be cordial. It wouldn't be smart to piss off the Konoha nin _now!_

"Ask, but the chances are low it'll happen," Asuma stated, jumping down from a tree branch. Yasu sighed.

"Put me with Itachi. That's all I want, I don't even want to live, I just want to see him one last time.

_And apologize for failing him. Shinobi...truly are tools. And with all the glory that comes with it...also comes a gross iniquity in which we all take part in, each and every one of us. And now...now, I have to kill my own half-blood._

Asuma sighed. "We'll figure that out later. For now…come quietly. Shika, can you take 'em all?"

"I doubt I'll be able to hold this one alone for very long, I mean, it's said that no one has ever seen him run out of gas, and I've definitely hit bone dry more than once, so just cit 'em up for me and I'll see what I can do. Aw man, this is _such a drag, _I mean, can't we just-"

"No!!" everyone shouted together. Shikamaru sighed.

"But he's a real nasty one, can't some bottomless chakra pit take him-?"

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?" Asuma sighed, exasperated, seeing Shikamaru's glance.

"All of it."

"Just do it," Asuma grumbled. "Kurenai, now's a great time to show off that fancy bloodline of yours!"

"Right."

The rings in Kurenai's eyes broke into segments and began to turn. She stared into Yasu's cold, unforgiving eyes, proud even in the face of death. Kurenai shivered: where had she seen those eyes before? Then she realized-

It was in herself.

All the time Yasu had taught her Ninpou, she had always told her to be heartless. And Kurenai had learned over time, and as she trained as a jounin, she knew what it truly was to be a shinobi; to kill, over and over again, to stain your hands with another's blood and treat it like water…she had seen the effects of being a shinobi on many people: Kakashi, Genma, Hayate, Asuma…Tsunade, and yes, even herself. They had all been changed by their lives as shinobi.

And now, she had to take the life of her own half sister.

Kurenai's hands moved into the sign the Yamanaka used for the Mind-Body Transfer and positioned them directly in front of Yasu's heart.

_Yasu…please…_

…_Please, please, forgive me…_

"Sakura Shintenshin!"

OOOOOOOOO

"Shadow Kunai," Kabuto muttered, still working at freeing Orochimaru from that damn Nara's jutsu. He had just finished perfecting this jutsu, and he had worked on it for weeks. He had designed it especially for this mission, knowing the signature jutsu of the Naras and also knowing that Shikamaru would be along. The jutsu created kunai out of shadows to attack the shadow arms used in the Shadow Possession Jutsu. The victim would be freed, and the user would be damaged.

Kabuto sent the knives forward.

Shadows arched and danced as Kabuto's knives plunged into Nara's shadows. Shikamaru looked up in shock, then saw Kabuto's sign: the rooster. He gasped, and Kabuto viciously attacked.

A screech of pain almost broke Kabuto's jutsu.

Orochimaru's neck was being crushed by the phantom of a black hand, and he was trying desperately to break the spell of paralysis Shikamaru had woven over him. Kabuto redoubled his efforts, trying even harder to free his master.

Orochimaru was abruptly released.

The sannin staggered, and then fell to the branch he had been standing on. Kabuto jumped down, picked up Orochimaru, and jumped back, holding Orochimaru to his chest.

"Kabuto, I can stand," he gasped, panting.

Kabuto hesitantly released Orochimaru but remained ready to catch him if he fell again.

"He's free!" he called.

The Akatsuki charged.

**A/N: That was probably really, really crappy. But that's okay, because the next chapter is going to rock. Right…? _Right…? _Oh, come on! Bleh…review please! Again, I am tired of flames; they will be fed to my pet fire demon. And then if you still flame me, I will laugh, throw coal at your ass, and then delete your flame comment! Have a nice day!!**


	15. Chapter 14: Pain of a Shinobi

Kurenai had just released her soul for the Shintenshin when Yasu charged at her at Kabuto's shout. She knew it would hit anyway; her bloodline ensured that. That wasn't what she was worried about. It was Yasu's ability to fight the Shintenshin that concerned her. Only the bloodline itself could fight it, and Yasu was the only other living possessor of it.

How truly strong could Kurenai be against her own half-sister?

Kurenai felt the part of her soul she had sent out strike Yasu squarely and smiled. This is what made the Sakura Shintenshin different from something the Yamanaka might use; Kurenai possessed her opponent with only part of her soul, the rest stayed in her own body, enabling her to use the second part of her jutsu. Sakura blossoms, like Cherry Blossom Suffocation, would cover the opponent's body, but only the extremities. Kurenai would use them to manipulate the opponent's body any way she wished, using her control over the cherry blossoms.

Kurenai waited until she was sure her entity had sunk in. The sides clashed violently, Sounds and Akatsuki striking at Konoha. But Kurenai didn't care. She just needed this jutsu to work-

Cherry blossoms erupted around Yasu.

Kurenai grinned, realizing her jutsu had worked. She slowly moved her fingers and, like one of Kankuro's puppets, Yasu moved exactly as Kurenai wanted her to. Kurenai directed her to the heart of the battle and after Hidan, who was chopping at Ino with his massive scythe. "Yasu" pulled out a kunai and swept it along the missing-nin's back.

Hidan froze.

"Yasu-sama…?"

Kurenai pasted a smile on her sister's face and moved her again.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade dashed through the forest, dragging Itachi along. The former Leaf nin had whined so much that she had ended up slapping him and gagging him. Temari had just about collapsed laughing, Kankuro had snickered uncontrollably, and a sadistic smirk had overcome Gaara's features. Then Tsunade had kicked him up and started dragging him again. Itachi had almost bitten her in the process, though, and he had ended up with another steaming handprint across the side of his face.

Tsunade broke through the tree line, into a clearing with a waterfall: the very same one that Kakashi had found sanctuary in.

"Everybody get a drink and rest for a few minutes," she called back. The rest of her squads stopped next to her, then hesitantly stepped up to the water's edge. The ANBU removed their gloves and masks and pooled water in their palms. The rest of her ninja went upstream to drink, and Tsunade waited until everyone else was done to let Itachi drink. She pulled off the gag and, holding Itachi by the hair, allowed the Uchiha to lower his head to the water. The Uchiha gulped down as much as he could before Tsunade pulled him back and handed him off to an ANBU so she herself could drink. Itachi waited quietly, on his knees, then put on his sweetest puppy-eyes look and stared up at Tsunade. The Hokage sighed and let him drink again.

"Thank you."

"Don't suck it up," Tsunade warned, pulling him back from the water. "And don't beg either; save your dignity."

Itachi sighed and allowed Tsunade to adjust his bonds again. "Very well."

"Do as I say, and I won't have to hurt you. Disobey me, and count on torture."

Itachi glanced at her, and then shifted his gaze to the other ANBU in a "help me!" kind of look.

"Oh, stop, you," Tsunade grouched. "We all know you hate me."

Itachi made a face and settled against Tsunade's shins. Tsunade looked down and placed a hand in his hair.

"You can put on quite a sweet face when you want to," she said dryly. "In the state you're in right now, I could probably make you my pet." Looking up to the ANBU, she called out, "Okay, who wants him next?"

No one raised his or her hands.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi knew they had left; their scent was gone and there was no noise. Kakashi's dogs stopped abruptly, confused and sniffing.

"Find them!" Kakashi commanded. "When you do, call me!"

"Found 'em."

Kakashi whirled at the sound of a foreign voice, nearly tripping over the dogs, who were trying to form a wall between him and the ninja.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Hatake brat," Kabuto drawled. "Son of a cowardly whore. I've been _dying _to teach you a lesson for a while."

Kakashi snickered. "You? Feh. Last time you couldn't touch me."

"But Sasuke could."

Kakashi faltered. "I let him!"

"But he could touch you none the less."

"If I decided to, I could have killed him!"

"But you didn't."

"Stop it!"

"Every touch, every caress, every kiss, every thrust-you're telling me that that was all _your _will, and yours alone?"

"_Stop it!!"_

The dogs felt Kakashi's distress and several smaller ones began to crowd into his legs, marking him with their scent and "crying" against his legs, expressing their concern for him and anxious with fear for their master.

"You're trying to tell me that-"

"_Stop!" _Kakashi broke off, trembling and struggling to control himself. "Please…just stop now…"

"Don't beg," Kabuto taunted heartlessly. "Spare yourself the dignity and me the headache."

Kakashi was silent.

Snarls broke from the dog's throats as snakes began to slither up on all sides.

"Don't rattle them" came a calm voice from behind. Kakashi didn't have to turn to know who it was: he'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Sasuke," he murmured. "Don't do this…please, stop…"

The second Uchiha lifted his nose haughtily. "Kabuto told you not to beg. Don't."

"Sasuke, I never intended for you to go that far!"

"Then you never should have intended for me to go after me!" Sasuke snapped. "The only choice I had left was to break you."

"Why?" Kakashi cried. "Why would you, how could you? One of your own to an extent, your sensei, your half-blood-"

"You aren't a purebred, not even close!" Sasuke shouted. "How dare you defile my clan with your blood claims?! The only relationship I ever had with you was one of tolerance, and then I broke you, once and for all! And hell, no, I don't regret it, but I was supposed to leave you alive!"

Sasuke stopped abruptly, realizing what he had just said. Kakashi slowly backed up, stunned by Sasuke's words.

"So…it was your full intent to…" He gasped and whirled, trying to run, but colliding with Kabuto in the process. Kabuto seized the jounin's shaking wrists and bent them up to Kakashi's chest, pressing him back even further. Kakashi snatched his hands away, stepped away from Kabuto, and allowed the dogs to jump in front of him protectively.

"You…" Orochimaru said slowly, directing a he snake to lower him to Kakashi's level. "You're Tsunade's love interest, aren't you?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Kakashi asked, a bit hesitantly.

"_I _used to be her love interest."

Kakashi recoiled as if slapped. "No…no way…in hell would Tsunade-sama ever…!"

"A way on earth," Orochimaru said smugly. "We loved each other until she found out about my thing with deadly jutsu. Then she left me, I left Konoha, Dan came and went, and we have remained so…until now."

Kakashi turned in a circle, searching for an escape route. He found none. Orochimaru was in front of him, Sasuke and Kabuto were on his sides, and the Sound Four had appeared around him. _No way out._

Still hoping a bit, Kakashi straightened. "What do you want from me? Besides sex."

Orochimaru's deadly golden eyes narrowed. "Hold your tongue and respect me, otherwise you will pay the price," he hissed. "And there are _many _things we want from you."

Kakashi stood stock still as Orochimaru stepped off the snake and onto Kakashi's tree branch. "Like what?" Kakashi asked. He was trying to hide his fear, but even he could tell he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

Orochimaru chuckled and advanced on Kakashi. "Oh, such beautiful fire," he mused, backing Kakashi into the tree trunk. "Too bad I have to break it again."

Kakashi barely fought down a whimper as Orochimaru's hands captured his, and within the second he was shoved to his knees and pain was washing over his senses like a wave of fire.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update…I have no excuse. Oh well…I have a new story, and it's Sound smut if anyone likes that kind of stuff. Thanks to all who reviewed, no flames please, and you know what I'm going to say but just to nag you again…I will laugh, throw coal at your ass, and delete your flame. Thank you!! **


	16. Chapter 15: Fallen

Itachi knew he was in trouble.

Tsunade had passed him off to several ANBU and went off into the forest, telling him she would be back for him in an hour or so. A nervous Shizune had followed, leaving Tonton with a female ANBU. Tsunade had sworn the just about the whole way, at least until Shizune had threatened to shove a bar of soap down her throat. Then she had shut her mouth and set to thinking.

"Ano…Tsunade-sama…?"

Tsunade turned to her assistant, acknowledging her with a glance.

"Where are we going?"

"Kakashi never caught up with us," Tsunade replied. "I'm going to find him."

Shizune nodded and took several larger leaps to catch up with Tsunade. "Do you know where he is?" she asked. Tsunade nodded and hacked angrily at a branch with a kunai.

"Frickin' Sound asses," she muttered. "_They've _caught up with _him_!"

Shizune's eyes widened. "But…I thought they were with the Akatsuki…Kurenai's battle…"

"They were. But then they realized Kakashi was alone and left the party."

Shizune nodded comprehensively. "Then…what do we do?"

"Find them and cross out fingers."

Shizune sighed. "All right, fine," she said. "But what happens if there are more than just Orochimaru and his personal squads?"

"We _die!" _Tsunade said dramatically.

"Okay…you do that."

"I will."

The pair then lapsed into silence and Tsunade chopped off another branch. "First person you see, if they're not from Konoha, they're dead, got it?"

"Sure thing."

Tsunade halted, waiting for Shizune to catch up. The girl halted next to her on the tree and listened hard.

"Sound Four, Kabuto, and Orochimaru himself," she whispered. Tsunade nodded.

"And…Kakashi…?"

Shizune shook her head. "He's afraid…_very _afraid. I can just about _smell _his fear."

"How close?"

"Couple yards at most."

Tsunade took off without so much as another word, her steps suddenly silenced and her movements undetectable. Shizune followed just as quietly, watching Tsunade's back and waiting for her move.

There was none.

Tsunade crashed unceremoniously through the tree line, slashing through a line of bodies. Kakashi lay in the middle of the ring, stark naked and bleeding furiously, Orochimaru menacing him. Even his mask had been stripped away, and he was trembling, backed into the trunk of the tree he had been standing on.

It was like pouring gasoline on fire.

With a roar of rage, Tsunade broke through the line of Otonin rushing to their master's defense. Blood, intestines, and body fluids flew through he air as Tsunade hacked viciously at the ninja in front of her. No one escaped her fury, and even Orochimaru seemed surprised at the bloody path she was carving.

Tsunade's hands laced with chakra and flamed with rage as she lashed out endlessly, striking one down and immediately moving on.

_The path of a shinobi…_Tsunade realized, _truly is a breaking one. To kill over and over again, all for one you love…it truly is a horrendous way to go._

_But I'd do it all again in a heartbeat…_

_If only it meant saving Kakashi pain._

Orochimaru was unprepared for Tsunade's onslaught, and fell quickly before her hand. He preferred to flee on a giant snake with Sasuke and Kabuto. He had gotten what he wanted from Kakashi, anyway.

Tsunade knelt down next to Kakashi, who had curled into a ball at her feet.

"Shhhhhh, come here," she whispered, stretching out her arms to him. Kakashi jumped into her embrace without hesitation, and Tsunade wrapped her arms around him. Kakashi's shaking refused to cease, and Tsunade tightened her embrace. A hand moved to Kakashi's hair, stroking the jounin so tenderly Kakashi was beginning to wonder if this was really Tsunade.

But then again, it wouldn't really matter. The person wanted to help him, they wouldn't hurt him, and Kakashi was safe in their arms. It wouldn't matter if this wasn't Tsunade, because she held him close and comforted him.

"Tsunade-sama!"

"…What, Shizune…?"  
Shizune swallowed nervously. "We better get out of here," she said slowly. "They're only unconscious, and Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto got away…"

Tsunade nodded and pulled off her green outer robe. She wrapped it around Kakashi's shoulders and carefully slid her hands underneath his body, feeling the blood soaking her fingers as she did so. Without even a word, Tsunade took off into the trees, trusting Tsunade to follow.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi was roughly shoved through a doorway and forced to his knees. "Stay here," came the command, and Itachi knew he would have no choice. The ANBU took several steps away from him and began to converse.

"Did Tsunade-sama say anything about what to do with him?"

"She said to blindfold him to neutralize the Sharingan, leave the gag, and make sure he has a few chains on him."

"I'll deal with him," volunteered a female ANBU.

"You sure?" This ANBU's voice was deep and somewhat skeptical. "I know you're strong, but-"

"You have to treat him with respect," the girl replied. "Be gentle." Itachi's eyes were fixed on the girl as she pulled a piece of cloth from her kunai pouch and approached him.

"Itachi," she murmured, slowly walking towards him. "Please don't try anything, I don't want to have to hurt you."

Itachi was tempted to throw himself at her and knock her away, but he was curious about how far she would go to be a bit kinder to him than the rest of the world.

"Itachi, calm down," she soothed, still walking towards him. Itachi's muscles coiled, ready to snap and release. The girl's eyes were locked on Itachi, staring deep into the violent Sharingan with soft, but willful lavender eyes. Itachi pulled back a bit, now completely ready to snap. The Mangekyou threatened to break through in Itachi's frustration, despite his attempts to push it down.

"Itachi-"

At the sound of the girl's voice, the deadly Mangekyou broke loose.

OOOOOOOOO

Shikamaru knew the battle was just about over.

Sasori and Zetsu lay dead; Yasu was still in Kurenai's Sakura Shintenshin, and Shikamaru's own Shadow Possession had snared Deidara. Hidan's legs and ankles had been cut up so badly by Asuma's trench knives that he was unable to stand, and Kisame was fading fast against Neji, Hinata and Kiba. Shino had set his bugs on Kakuza, and Tobi was having no easy time against Lee's Drunken Fist Taijutsu.

"All right, just stop!"

The entire battle froze at the shout from Hidan.

"We're all going to die if we keep going, so jus stop now, we might get away with our lives."

Kisame was too stunned to move as two hands captured his and tied them together behind his back. In a way, Hidan was right. And if they all died, what would become of the Akatsuki? Lee backed off of Tobi, preferring to let someone "sober" deal with him. Tobi decided to offer nothing more than spit, and within the second he had earned himself a slap from Neji, his chakra pathways were being sealed, and his hands were bound. Hinata was a bit more merciful and slightly gentler when taking her enemies into her possession, and definitely better than Neji's shove-and-kick tactics. Kurenai released Yasu, and the missing-nin immediately collapsed.

It was all black from there.

**A/N: . Doctor's visit today. –Rolls eyes- Joy. I got a shot today and I'm going to have to go for two more in a week. And _then _I have to get blood taken for all kinds of crazy tests… . Joy. So the nurse sticks the needle through my arm, pulls it out and all, and goes, "Oops, I hit a capillary!" You know, one of those real tiny little blood veins and all…and my arm is bleeding like hell!! The blood goes all the way down to my elbow and I'm like, "you sure you didn't hit an artery?" So she laughs and puts a teeny little Band-aid on it and walks out. . So now my arm is still bleeding because I have to move it to keep it from cramping and it's still bleeding. Joy. I'd better stop typing, otherwise I'll drown the keyboard in blood. Sorry this was so long and the chapter was short, the next one should be longer and better than this one. Bleed out!**

**-Destiny.**


	17. Chapter 16: Poison

Yasu awoke to a warm body next to hers.

Her head shot up, stunned to find someone next to her. Her eyes were met with long, black hair, glaring red Sharingan, and a pale, drawn face.

"Itachi!"

Yasu threw herself at her lover, pressing up against him and moaning with pleasure. "Oh, my God, Itachi…"

Itachi gently kissed her, nuzzling her neck and shifting his weight closer to her. "I was awake when they hauled you in," he murmured, kissing her again. "They kin of tossed you around, and then chained your ankles to the floor. They stopped there, though; no clue why. Your hands still have the initial bonds, the ropes and all, but I don't think anything beyond that."

Yasu nodded and looked Itachi over. "Same deal."

Itachi sighed. "I made a big mistake, trying to fight all those ANBU with just the Mangekyou," he groaned. "I blacked out after two tries, and they kinda threw me around after that." A grimace crossed Itachi's face. "I feel like someone fucked me six times in a night."

Yasu snorted. "They probably did. And that bad, huh? Usually it's only three times…"

"Oh, the usual; get drugged, get fucked, get killed. Pure and simple."

Yasu laughed and tested her limits. She found that the chains around her ankles were a foot long, and that she could move accordingly. Depending on how much Itachi could move, they were in for an interesting evening…

OOOOOOOOOO

Tsunade's grin only served to further aggravate Hidan.

He still couldn't stand, and he had been humiliatingly carried into Konoha; in broad daylight, and as a prisoner! Tsunade's grin was fantastic as she bent down to stare Hidan in the eye.

"Do you still want me to say it?"

"What?" Hidan snapped back. "Asshole," he muttered under his breath.

"Watch it," Tsuande warned. "Man, you've one heck of a mouth on you."

Hidan made a face and shifted his hips, resettling his weight on his sore rump. The thick chain around his neck wasn't helping matters, either.

"You know you've lost everything."

"Yasu-sama is still alive," Hidan growled. "And even if she isn't, her order still stands!"

Tsunade's eyebrows arched. "Oh? And what would that be?"

Hidan glowered, and Tsunade thought he looked like he was about to throw a rod. "Get rid of you, get Kakashi back into our possession, and make sure she has no interruptions during the sealing!"

Tsunade fought down laughter and she spat. "Pretty hard to do now, huh?"

"Exactly why I'm getting out of here," Hidan muttered. "And I swear, once you're dead, Lady Yasu will be in your place!"

"So why do you need Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.

"Power; pure an simple."

"So this is just the childhood fairytale bad guy?" Tsunade said dryly. Hidan shrugged.

"I suppose you could say that," he said. "But for the time being, I can't stand, and I want something done about it."

"What you want, what you deserve, and what I will give you, are three entirely differently concepts."  
Hidan sighed. "Whatever. What if I ask nicely?"

"How about _I _ask you a couple questions, they get answered, and _then _we talk?"

Hidan gave an exaggerated sigh. "Depends on what you want answered."

Tsunade glared. "Are you being difficult?"

"Maybe I am."

"Oh, just shut up."

"No."

Tsunade shrugged. "Okay, then, I guess you don't need me to heal those legs."

"Aw, come on!" Hidan cried. "That's hitting below the belt!"

"Maybe it is."

"Grrrrrrr…"

"Rawr."

Hidan sighed. _This is going to take a while…_

OOOOOOOOO

Shizune bent over Kakashi, looking over his injuries. Tsunade had managed to coax him to sleep, and had stayed with him until he did. Once she was certain he was asleep, she left Shizune to heal him. Now, Shizune sat with Kakashi in her lap, absently stroking his silver hair and examining the patterns of bruises over his body. The five bruises on each of Kakashi's wrists said that he was held down, and the large elliptical ones showed that he had been struck with a closed fist. The slightly longer and fainter ones told Shizune that it was a place where an open hand had made contact. There were several red-purple bruises, and those looked especially nasty. Bites, maybe? Shizune made a mental note to ask Tsunade about them. There were several cuts over Kakashi's body, but they only looked like lacerations and abrasions. Maybe he was held against a tree trunk? That would be the most likely explanation…

Kakashi shifted in Shizune's lap, and the girl looked down. _Uh-oh…he's waking up…_

Kakashi's mis-matched eyes opened, and he started when he saw Shizune instead of Tsunade. Shizune felt him flinch away, and he began to tremble under her hands.

"Shhhhhh, it's okay," Shizune murmured. She knew Kakashi was waiting for a blow to fall, and was confused when none came, but instead a soothing touch stroking his hair and a soft voice quieting him.

"Tsunade-sama had to make sure the Akatsuki were taken care of," Shizune continued. "We got 'em all."

"…What…?"

"They're not dead; we're still trying to get something out of them. But don't worry; she'll be back soon…"

Kakashi nodded and sat up a bit, positioning himself against Shizune's collarbone. Shizune looked down and slowly wrapped her arms around him. Kakashi's breathing evened again, and his heartbeat returned to normal.

"All right; I'm back."

Kakashi looked up as a small dog walked into the room.

"Pakkun…" Kakashi said softly. The brown pug put his paws on the side of the bed and stood on his hind legs.

"Hey, boss."

"Hello, you." Kakashi slid his hands underneath the dog's front legs and lifted him into his lap. Pakkun reached up and planted his paws on Kakashi's collarbones.

"Hello. When was the last time you were around?"

"A while," Kakashi replied. "Sakura's been feeding you guys?"

Pakkun nodded. "Yeah, she comes by for an hour or so every day and feeds us, plays with us and all. Sometimes he takes us to training with her, too."

"Good."

Pakkun curled up in Kakashi's lap, settling his small, warm body against hard stomach muscles and softly curving hipbones. "I missed you. Kitsune's been going wild, and Shukaku looks like he wants to kill something just about all the time."

Kakashi sighed. "I'll be home soon, so just keep yourselves under control for another couple of days until I get back."

"I don't think so."

Kakashi turned his head to acknowledge Tsunade. The Hokage walked in, carrying several papers.

"I just ran a couple tests on a blood sample from you. There are a few drugs that have been forcibly introduced to your system, and they re reacting badly with the adrenaline you got from shock and extreme emotions; probably right after Orochimaru pounded you into a tree."

Kakashi looked away in shame. "He didn't actually-"

"I know, I know," Tsunade said abruptly. "But he still hurt you badly, and your emotions went just about out of control. Not to mention whatever drugs he may have forced you to take."

"Kabuto put something in my arm, I don't know what it was…"

"What happened after he did that?"

"I couldn't move," Kakashi said slowly. Pakkun felt his hand grow heavy on his back, and lifted his head to lick Kakashi's hand in comfort. "I could feel myself panicking, and I just…couldn't move…"

"Sedative," Tsunade said immediately. "I know exactly what it is, and it's actually very common. However, the side effects are a bit less mild than most other sedatives, and between the adrenaline and the shock, you r body may have trouble with detox."

Kakashi nodded, and his hands began to move across Pakkun's fur again. "How long?"

"Week and a half, two weeks at most."

Kakashi sighed. He had been hospitalized enough times to know that he was going to be _very _bored for the next couple days.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Kakashi looked up from Pakkun at Shizune's inquisition. "Tsunade, are you-?"

Tsunade's body swayed dangerously, and she braced herself against the wall. "Yeah…just…" Kakashi watched as Tsunade's chest heaved, her breathing fast and labored. Her skin was chalk white, and she seemed ready to pass out.

"Tsunade-sama-" Shizune started. Tsunade closed her eyes. "Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?"

Tsunade collapsed to the ground, barely breathing anymore. Kakashi jumped up, carefully putting Pakkun to the side and running to Tsunade's side. Shizune mirrored him.

"_What _happened?" Kakashi roared.

"I don't know!" Shizune sounded panicky as her shaking hands lined with green chakra, and she pressed them to Tsunade's chest.

"Poison," she said after a moment. "She's been poisoned."

"Oh, God…" Kakashi sank to his knees next to Tsunade and pulled her into his arms. "Please, Tsunade…don't-don't be the sixth one…"

Shizune was puzzled by the comment, but said nothing as she began trying to heal Tsunade.

"Not again…not _ever _again…"

**A/N: So? Was it cute? Want to see more? Review please!**


	18. Chapter 17: Memories of Deidara

Chapter 17 

"Stop!"

Sasuke and Kabuto pulled up next to Orochimaru as the sannin collapsed to his knees on a tree branch. The wound in his side from a kunai spilled blood; Kakashi had fought back viciously. Kabuto hesitantly slid his arm underneath Orochimaru's and focused healing chakra to his other hand. Orochimaru felt a wave of relief wash over his senses as Kabuto healed the wound.

"I think you need a tetanus vaccination," Kabuto mused as he worked. "I don't remember when I last gave you one, and this is a deadly disease. You know it lives mainly in metal and dirt?" When Orochimaru nodded, Kabuto continued. "Well, this wound is deep, and from metal, so guess what happens now?"

"I hate needles, and you damn well know it," Orochimaru grumbled, but he extended his left arm. Kabuto slid the needle into his flesh, and Orochimaru felt blood rising to the surface. Kabuto healed the puncture wound as well immediately and carefully lifted Orochimaru's body.

"Sasuke, get his other side."

The teen nodded and put his arm underneath Kabuto's and together, they lifted Orochimaru and kept running for Otoga.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade lay out across a metal table, Shizune and a team of medics trying desperately to cleanse her body of the poison. Kakashi had passed out from trauma and the stress put on his body, and Shizune had instructed several medics to take him back to his room and let him sleep. The medics left in a hurry, and Shizune returned to healing Tsunade.

"Help me!" she called. "Get an I.V. and oxygen, I can't hold her for much longer!"

Shizune moaned with pain; she was scraping the bottom of her chakra pit, and the poison was barely out of Tsunade's body. She sighed and redoubled her efforts.

"If we can get her conscious, she can try the Genesis Resurrection!" Shizune gasped, and almost collapsed from using so much chakra, but she kept trying to heal Tsunade. The rest of the medics moved in next to her, healing chakra spilling from their hands.

"Will that work?" one of them asked.

"That's why I said 'try'," Shizune panted. "I'm not sure!"

OOOOOOOOO

Hidan was sure he had gotten the poison into Tsunade's system. It was a large part of the reason for going after Kakashi a third time. Yasu thought she could kill two birds with one stone. However, she had to pay dearly-and gamble-for that stone.

Yasu had warned her subordinates about the dangers, but all had agreed to go. Part one of her plan was now complete; all that was left was for Part two to go smoothly. And _that _was up to Deidara.

OOOOOOOOO

Deidara crawled along the corridors. He couldn't stand anymore; damn that women! She had poisoned them all! Except for Yasu and Itachi…Deidara didn't know why, but it didn't matter. As long as Yasu and Itachi were safe and Deidara could work his clay, they had hope.

Of course, it would have been so much easier if Sasori had survived. He could have used his puppets to aid Deidara. But Deidara would have to make do; he wasn't in the Akatsuki for laughing people to death! No, he was a genius ninja-and he was about to prove it!

Deidara pushed some clay into the lock on Yasu's door. He used his clay molding skills to form it into the shape of the lock, making the key to it, and turned it and opened the door.

Yasu looked stunned to see Deidara in the doorway.

"You made it!" she gasped. Deidara nodded.

"Had…Tsunade…been in here…?" he panted. He knew he had to hurry; every second took the poison closer to his heart.

"No," Yasu answered, a bit confused now. "Why?"

"No…time…" Deidara whispered. He quickly formed the keys for Yasu's and Itachi's chains and severed the ropes that held them down.

"Get…out…of here…" he said. The poison had reached his heart; nothing could save him now. "Hidan…did it…" Yasu could feel his heartbeat slowing, and grasped Deidara's hand.

"And…the others?"

Deidara shook his head. "Go," he moaned. "Now…! Keep us…alive…"

Yasu knew that this was it for Deidara. Itachi turned away, the closest thing to emotion on his face.

"Don't look away."  
Itachi looked back at Yasu, puzzled.

"Respect."

Itachi nodded. "He was…the closest thing I had to a friend besides Shisui…Sasori was just creepy, Kisame was kind of stupid, and Zetsu and Hidan and I didn't see much of each other. Deidara always seem to get stuck with me…and we learned to get along. Kakuza was our leader an scared to pieces of me, like Orochimaru, so naturally there was no talking to them. Deidara…he was funny. The things he did with his hands…and that clay bird of his was fun to ride on…I remember one time he put me on as a joke and sent me flying over water…then he clung to it with his clay skills and barrel rolled. No warning; I fell right off."

Yasu smiled, tears brimming in her eyes. "Yeah, he was cool…he painted a smilie face on my door one night. No reason; he just wanted to see my reaction. He had a tendency to tag stuff…random stuff, for no reason…"

And, as Yasu and Itachi watched, Deidara, former shinobi of Iwaga, died with a smile on his face.

OOOOOOOOO

Yasu glanced at Itachi.

"We have to get out of here."

Itachi bolted for the door, Yasu hot on his heels. They pounded through the hallways, hearts beating furiously, breathing accelerated. Yasu grabbed Itachi's hand as they broke into daylight and yanked him into the dense foliage behind the Hokage's Tower.

"Stop for a minute."

Itachi pulled up short to avoid slamming into Yasu's back.

"Hold still for a second."

Itachi eyed the senbon in Yasu's hand. "One: where did you get that? Two: what are you going to use it for?"

"In order, my cloak has a rip in the lining from-surprise!-a senbon. It slipped down between the lining and the cloak and I've kept it there ever since. I'm using it to re-open your chakra passageways."

Itachi nodded and opened his own cloak. "Do what you have to do."  
Yasu nodded. "Once you get your chakra back, open mine."

"Sure."

Yasu lifted Itachi's fishnet shirt and released her bloodline.

"How can you do that without chakra?" Itachi asked.

"My bloodline, sort of like yours, is always present, but you can only see it when it's active."  
Itachi nodded and let Yasu run her hands over his stomach. He fought to keep from leaning into her touches; it felt so good, to be caressed like that…

Then the senbon pierced his stomach, and Itachi gasped with pain. Chakra flooded his senses and stars danced before his eyes. When he regained his sight, he shook his head and looked down at the wound. A thin line of blood dribbled from where the senbon had been shoved in, but otherwise he seemed fine.

"Focus chakra to your hand and hit me…here," Yasu said, pointing to a spot right above her…navel ring?! Itachi's jaw dropped.

"Wh-When did you do this?!"

"'Bout a week ago," Yasu mumbled. "Cute, huh?"

Itachi snorted. "Sexy, that's what."

Yasu sighed. "Just open the passageway."

Itachi's hand glowed with chakra and he pressed his hand to the spot Yasu had pointed out. Yasu's breathing didn't even hitch as Itachi set her chakra back in motion.

"Oh, sure, I get the painful way," Itachi said sarcastically. Yasu sighed.

"Thank you, you're welcome. Now let's go."

Itachi sighed, but nodded and began running with Yasu again. He realized that it was much easier with his chakra back; before, he hadn't known how much he depended on his chakra.

"Come on," Yasu said quietly. "We need to find the Otonin, fast."

Itachi nodded and followed Yasu into the forest."

A/N: Sorry that was so short and so late. No excuse…again. But that's because the next chapter is going to be even better!! I promise!! Okay, going to watch Naruto…bye, peeps!! .


	19. Chapter 18: Dusk

Chapter 18 

Hidan's breathing was sharp and fast; he knew this was it. He was going to die, and he knew it. He also knew that Tsunade was dying. Stupid woman. Should have stuck to gambling and out of the way. Hidan's heart fluttered, and he drew his last breath with a smile, knowing he died with honor and the Hokage of the leaf.

OOOOOOOOO

Kisame lay panting, struggling to breathe. He had accidentally inhaled some of the poison, and he could feel his lungs being torn apart by every breath he took. Damn Tsunade! She was forcing him to kill himself!

Kisame felt the poison take over completely, and his breath faded out. The missing-nin from Kirigakure died cursing Konohagure forever.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakuza knew it was the end of his line, and also the end of the Akatsuki's. Unless…yes, Yasu and Itachi had lived! Tsunade hadn't poisoned them! They had escaped! Kakuza breathed a sigh of relief; he could die peacefully now, knowing that his legacy would be preserved.

And he did.

OOOOOOOO

Tsunade fought the poison that ravaged her body with nothing short of blind fury. She couldn't die, not here, not now, not like this! She drew another ragged breath and willed her heart to beat. _Come on…Genesis…Resurrection…! _

Tsunade's chakra began to fly off her body in her subconscious rage. She heard a gasp from beside her, and fought harder. She was starting to regain consciousness…_come on, come on! _

With one final shove, Tsunade exploded back into the world.

OOOOOOOOO

Shizune gasped as Tsunade's eyes flew open and her entire body glowed purple with chakra. Her seal shattered, spreading over her face, then down her neck and onto her shoulders. Shizune's eyes widened in shock.

"It's…It's not stopping!"

The medics puller her back, and Shizune fainted from sheer exhaustion. Tsunade's seal continued down her arms and over her chest, still moving across her body. It didn't stop until it had reached her feet, and then the seal ruptured completely. Tsunade's body became a blinding light, and the medics dragged Shizune back farther. Tsunade felt her body dispelling the poison, but she registered nothing in the world at all. All that mattered was the present moment; that one, fleeting moment, when Tsunade had a moment of clarity, and she knew for sure…

She wasn't going to die.

She was the Fifth Hokage, and…

"Fuck if anyone tries to take that away from me."

OOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru lay quietly as Kabuto pulled off his shirt to change the bandages on that stupid wound. Kabuto had run out of chakra after healing Orochimaru's broken ribs. The sannin had tripped out of pure exhaustion and pain and went down, dong something painful to both his side and Kabuto's spine. Kabuto had automatically regenerated with what little chakra he had left, and then he had healed Orochimaru. The snake had twisted his body as he fell, re-opening the wound and snapping several ribs. Kabuto had scraped up enough chakra to heal the ribs, but he couldn't heal the laceration. He had bandaged the wound and then, to Orochimaru's dismay, picked him up altogether. He had considered kicking Kabuto in the teeth, but he was so drained and _pissed off _that he fell asleep. Kabuto had carried him into his room and set him down on the bed, then went to the bathroom and got fresh bandages. Orochimaru had woken up by that time, as Kabuto had started pulling his clothes off, but had given no reaction.

Except now.

Orochimaru hissed as a sting rose to the surface of his skin, and he glared at Kabuto for the pain.

"Iodine," the boy said in response to the glare. "I'm cleaning out the wound."

"Well, do it less painfully," Orochimaru spat. He could have sworn the boy was smirking as well…"And get that look off your face."

Kabuto's smile only widened, and he set the iodine aside. Orochimaru felt a gentle hand in his hair, and soft lips grazed his forehead.

"You did well," Kabuto murmured, keeping his face in contact with Orochimaru's. "Tsunade is probably dead, the Akatsuki are completely under your control, Konoha is still weak, and Sunaga still hasn't figured out your part in the Kazekage's-"

"Stop it."

Kabuto withdrew slowly, confused by his master's behavior. "What's the matter?"

"You're wrong," Orochimaru said bitterly. "Tsunade isn't going to die. She's very much alive; I can sense her. The Akatsuki is almost extinct instead, I can sense that too. Konoha is almost back on its feet; I was just there for a mission. Sunaga just contacted me about the Kazekage, and they know about my role in his demise. Kabuto…" Orochimaru looked up at Kabuto, a complex look even Kabuto couldn't read on his face. "We're falling apart…" Kabuto's hand began to move in Orochimaru's hair, gently stroking him.

"Orochimaru-sama, it's not over, don't-"

Kabuto stopped short as Orochimaru's eyes began to shine with tears.

"Kabuto…" the first tear spilled over, and Kabuto felt himself begin to cry as well, ripped apart by his master's pain. "It _is _over."

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi sat on the crest of the hill, looking out at the setting sun. The vibrant color bled together over the fiery globe that was the sun. Itachi had always liked sunsets, especially red ones. He was lucky tonight; this particular sunset was very red.

"Mind if I join you?"  
Itachi looked up at Yasu and nodded mutely. The woman's cloak was open, revealing her halter-top and capris. She settled on the grass next to Itachi, cloak and hair billowing in the breeze.

"It's so pretty tonight."

"Stop trying to make me feel better."

Yasu sighed. "Just like now, the sun has set on the Akatsuki…" She turned to look at Itachi. "You know they're all dead?"

Itachi nodded. "Except us."

Yasu fell into Itachi's shoulder. "We're going to have to do something."

Itachi shrugged the shoulder Yasu wasn't leaning on.

"And…there's…" Yasu swallowed hard. "There's something I have to tell you…"

Itachi sighed. "Well, what is it?"

Yasu swallowed again. "'tachi…I'm pregnant…"

Itachi stiffened against Yasu and turned sharply to her. "How long have you known?!"

"Since we first…"

Itachi heaved a heavy exhale. "God, Yasu…!" He exhaled again. "Actually, this works out perfectly. We go into hiding, have the kid, wait until he kid I thirteen or so, and restart the Akatsuki. I'll be…thirty, and you'll be…thirty-two or so, but we'll still have enough to raise the kid and restart Akatsuki."

Yasu nodded. "Okay, so that's what we do…but…where do you go…?"

Itachi sighed. "I know a few people who owe me."

"Informative."

Yasu wasn't happy with the answer, but she also knew Itachi wasn't about to give her more than that. She sighed and leaned against him again.

"So until we restart, what do we do?"

Itachi lowered his gaze. "We wait," he said finally. "It's dusk anyway. We must wait for morning's rise, and for fate to smile on us once again."

Yasu knew he was right.

**A/N: T.T –sniffle- Cry scenes! Oh, well! No flames, I don't care if you don't like it, just no flames. This should be it for the mushy stuff, so bare with me a little longer…Thanks for reading this! (If you did…) **


	20. Chapter 19: Time and Change

Chapter 19

(9 months later)

Itachi stood outside the bedroom, pacing nervously. Yasu had insisted on delivering on her own, but Itachi was worried about her. This was her first time, there was very little she could get to by way of medical assistance, and there was so much that could go wrong…and the screams of pain from behind the door were hardly reassuring.

"She'll be fine."

Itachi turned. His friend's wife, Hataru, was walking towards him with an armful of towels.

"I'm going in to help her," Hataru continued. "However stubborn she may be, it's not wise to deliver alone. Women instinctively know what to do, but still…"

Itachi nodded and stepped aside. Hataru pushed open the door and slid through, closing it firmly behind her.

Disheartened, Itachi went downstairs and saw his friend, Kensuki, sitting on the couch with a glass of…

"Is that rum?" Itachi asked slowly.

Kensuki shook his head. "Nah, just apple juice."

Itachi sighed and found the carton of juice in the refrigerator and began drinking directly from it.

Kensuki smiled as a particularly harsh scream sounded from above. "Let's celebrate manhood. Want beer?"

OOOOOOOO

Tsunade sighed and glanced at her stomach. She was in for some serious trouble in a few months; Shizune had broken it to her brutally that she was pregnant, and everyone's favorite Copy Ninja was the father. Tsunade had almost passed out, and Kakashi had sworn a bit and walked back and forth, sputtering and spewing curses.

"Well, at least you're only thirty," Kakashi had tried. Tsunade had just about bashed his head in, and Kakashi had then slunk away to nurse his injuries. Shizune had offered to tell them if it was a boy or a girl, but Tsunade had told Shizune to leave it a mystery.

Kakashi laid a hand on her stomach.

"She keeps kicking."

"She?" Tsunade repeated. "No way-it's a boy."

"With that kick? Gotta be a girl," Kakashi countered.

"Mother's intuition," Tsunade said. "Boy."

Kakashi smiled and pulled her up off of the couch. "Six months now," he mused. "Does anyone else know?"

"Just Shizune and the elders," Tsunade said. "A few of the jounin close to me."

Kakashi nodded. "Whatever. You have the most rights as the mother."

Tsunade sighed. "The baby is healthy. Shizune takes a look every week, and so far so good. No problems at all."

"Good."

Tsunade sighed again. "I'm starting to think you gave me triplets," she groaned. "I feel so weighted down…"

Kakashi smiled. "Congrats, Mommy."

Tsunade glared. "Do you need a concussion?"

"…No…"

"Then don't get smart with me."

OOOOOOOOO

"Itachi!!"

Itachi started at the sound of Hataru's voice. "What? Is Yasu-?"

A grin split Hataru's face. "It's a girl."

Itachi bolted up the stairs, past Hataru, and into the bedroom. Yasu was lying back against a pillow, a small baby wrapped in a towel against her chest.

"Meet Yumiko," Yasu said softly. Itachi sat down next to Yasu, looking at her face.

"She has your eyes and my hair," he said, looking for the flashes of red that would indicate Sharingan. Sure enough, they were there. Itachi smiled, watching the red dance across the girl's eyes.

"And my face," Yasu said. "Look at the angles."

Itachi's smile widened. "A new dawn…she's you, Yasu. She'll continue Akatsuki after you."

Yasu nodded. "Hey, what time is it?"

Itachi parted the thick curtains for a moment. When he turned back to Yasu, he was smiling.

"The sun is coming up now. She was born at dawn, and she is the dawn of the Akatsuki."

OOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru was angsting. Badly.

He had slipped through Kabuto's fingers and escaped to the roof of his complex. He knew Kabuto was probably worried sick; that was why he had left a trail of blood that dead-ended at a window he had left open. He felt like giving someone a heart attack as well.

"Orochimaru-sama, don't you _ever _scare me like that again! The blood, the window, the-oooooh, I ought to spank you!"

Orochimaru shrugged. "What good would it do you?"

Kabuto visibly recoiled. Orochimaru had done…nothing. Normally he would have backhanded Kabuto, struck him in some way, or at the very least told him off. Instead he just _sat there. _Kabuto slowly walked over to Orochimaru and put his arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"What's wrong?"

Orochimaru shoved him away and turned to the side. "Leave me alone."

"Masochist," Kabuto muttered. "Are you hurt? Did someone-?"

"Kabuto, I told you to leave me alone."

Kabuto sighed. "Should I drag you back?"

"Kabuto, watch your tongue."

Kabuto sighed again, leaned forward and caught both of Orochimaru's wrists in his hands.

"Naughty, you," he scolded, and pulled Orochimaru up. This only earned him a painful kick to the shins, and Orochimaru's leg snaked around and kicked his knees out. Kabuto used Orochimaru as leverage and swung up over the sannin's head. As Kabuto moved, he could feel warm blood soaking his fingers, especially as he moved farther up Orochimaru's arms.

"Orochimaru-sama!" he cried. "You've been cutting yourself! _Again! _When are you going to learn-?"

"Shut your mouth!"

Kabuto sighed as Orochimaru kicked him again, but he didn't relent in his hold. "You've been up here for hours! Have you been…all that time…?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Call me a masochist if you will, but it feels good…I'd almost forgotten what pain is."

Kabuto sighed again. "Stop moping!"

Orochimaru had no answer. He _was _miserable, but what could he do? There really wasn't anything…

"Come on," Kabuto said gruffly, and began dragging Orochimaru behind him. "Itachi's here."

Orochimaru sighed and yanked his hands out of Kabuto's. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Stop making it worse, you'll think I did it and I'll never hear the end of it from you."

"You never will," Kabuto said dryly. "Not until you stop moping."

"Oh, joy."

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi was pacing again, simply trying to work off excess nervous energy. Yasu held Yumiko in her arms, slowly rocking the child, trying to put her to sleep.

"Itachi."

Itachi turned to Orochimaru and immediately noticed the blood on his arms.

"You're wounded," he said dryly. "What did you do?"

"Yeah, about that…" Orochimaru said slowly. "Mission, I guess you could say."

_More like "mission prove emo-ness", _Kabuto thought, but he said nothing. Itachi was emo _king;_ couldn't he see-?

"You have a child," Orochimaru commented. Yasu nodded and held out Yumiko.

"See that?" she said smugly, showing off the girls' bloodline. "That's Sharingan, _and _the Yuuhi and Kurosaki bloodline. Powerful blood; she is the future of the Akatsuki. We wanted to tell you that we're not completely out of this yet. And we want to form an alliance."

Orochimaru's eyebrows arched. "I see…we are both weak, so if we join each other we can gain strength."

For a moment Kabuto thought he was going to refuse; his arms crossed and he shifted his weight to his left hip.

Then he spoke those three fateful words.

"Talk to me."

OOOOOOOOOO

(3 Months later)

Tsunade felt an especially sharp kick to her side and groaned. Kakashi looked at her in concern.

"Your due date is in two weeks," he said. "And the baby's really been kicking…"

Tsunade nodded. "I think-oooooh!"

Kakashi turned to her in a flash, helping her to a chair and sitting her down.

Tsunade nodded again.

"And so it begins…"

**A/N: Sorry about all the time skips…nothing else important enough happens to make less time skips, so I just did this…sorry if it got a little confusing. And sorry it's so late…some stuff came up. I'll live, though…the next chapter should come quicker, though, so don't kill me yet! Thanks, all!!**


	21. Chapter 20: Twisted Dream

Chapter 20

Temari sat quietly in the small hotel room she and her brothers had rented for the week. Kankuro and Gaara had gone off to train, leaving Temari to feed the retards.

A knock sounded on the door.

Temari looked up from her fan, which she was cleaning with a rag. Who was it? She hadn't ordered anything, and Kankuro and Gaara couldn't be back so early…

Temari set her fan aside and walked to the door. She carefully unlocked the door and stepped aside.

Shikamaru stood in front of her.

"Shikamaru!"

"Temari."

Shikamaru stepped into the room, slinging an arm around Temari's shoulders as he went. Temari kicked the door shut behind her and leaned into Shikamaru's shoulder.

"It's been too long," she murmured, and Shikamaru pulled her down to the couch.

"Word," he replied, and gently kissed her. "I've missed you so much."

Temari picked up her fan again and handed Shikamaru a spare rag. "Start scrubbing," she said. "Sand is embedded in it."

Shikamaru sighed. "Must I?"

Temari smiled. "Your other option is to fuck me."

Shikamaru groaned. "I'll clean the fan…"

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade knew it was today.

She had gone to Shizune when she thought her water broke and, sure enough, this was it. Kakashi had come over and offered to help, and Tsunade had told him she and Shizune were fine. Now, Kakashi was reading his favorite orange book on the couch downstairs, and Shizune had taken Tsunade to her room.

"This is going to take a while," Shizune had told him. "You can go if you want."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. I'll stay. Thank you, though."

Shizune shrugged. "Suit yourself."

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi signed the contract and set it aside. "It begins," he said quietly. "And now we just wait."

Orochimaru signed his own name and Kabuto picked up the scroll, neatly rolling it up and turning to Itachi.

"The sun."

Itachi looked up, though the stained glass windows around the upper walls of the stone room.

"It's sunset," he said.

"Hai. And the sky is red," Yasu observed. Kabuto nodded.

"It will rain tomorrow," he said. "These clouds are dark, and the sky is red."

"Red…" Orochimaru murmured. "Blood."

OOOOOOOOO

"Misao."

Kakashi nodded as he looked at his new baby girl. "It's a good name for her."

Tsunade fell back against the pillows Shizune had stacked behind her for support, sighing. "Oh, the lives that will change…"

Kakashi sat down next to Tsunade and put an arm around her shoulders. Flashes of red danced across the baby's eyes; signs of the Sharingan.

"You can pass it on," Tsunade said softly. "I didn't know."

"Neither did I," Kakashi confessed. "And now I can…if Itachi ever finds out, he'll be furious with me. He can't find out until the child is safe."

"She's never safe," Tsunade said bitterly. "She's he daughter of the Godaime and the Copy Ninja."

Kakashi sighed. "You're right. We'll wait until she's thirteen or so, and then we'll see what happens."

Tsunade nodded. "All right, she's hungry."

"Right. Call me if you need me."

Tsunade nodded, and Kakashi stepped out to let Misao nurse. He couldn't have been happier at the moment, but the fact remained that Misao-and Tsunade-were in danger. And he, as the father, was responsible for both his child and the mother. And he had to make the decision.

"Well?" Shizune stood in the hallway, grinning ear to ear.

"She's a beautiful baby," Kakashi replied. "She certainly inherited her father's good looks."

"And her mother's," Shizune said, smiling. "She's blonde."

Kakashi nodded. "She's a blonde, all right."

"I'm going in to help her. It's tricky, first time around."

"All right. I'm going to go now."

Shizune nodded. "You can come back any time."

"Of course," Kakashi said. "Thank you."

As he walked down the road to his apartment, he gazed up at the sun. The sunset was red, almost like…

"Blood."

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke heard the door handle twist.

"Unless you're Orochimaru or Kabuto, go away," he called. "Flying kunai."

Orochimaru sighed and slowly opened the door. "Can you stop for a minute?"

"Only for you," Sasuke spat, and dropped the kunai he was holding. "What?"

"One, you're a brat," Orochimaru said dryly. "Two, in the morning I expect you for a mission."

"Where?" Sasuke asked, sounding bored.

"Go with Kabuto to test a drop point just outside of Leaf. We're setting up for one final stab." Orochimaru explained. "Itachi and Yasu will be joining us."

"Itachi?!"

Sasuke immediately seemed interested and paying attention. "Itachi will be there?"

Orochimaru nodded. "We have agreed to a peace treaty. Yasu is waiting for her new baby to turn thirteen, so we will be waiting a while. But in the meantime, Sasuke-no killing him. You've waited this long, you can wait a little longer. I promise you, I will not take your body until you have had your revenge. We need Itachi for the time being, but after that, I don't care if it's the second the battle ends, you can disintegrate him."

Sasuke sighed and picked up a kunai. "Hai," he grunted. The kunai whizzed past Orochimaru's face, clipping a hair and carrying it with the kunai to slam into Sasuke's target board.

"Split end."

"You could have asked!" Orochimaru sputtered, jumping up. "You almost took my face off!"

"It's not even your face."

Orochimaru sighed. "Feel free to cut my hair any time, I'm too lazy and Kabuto usually cuts off the split ends while I sleep. But ask first please?!"

Sasuke pulled another kunai from the pouch lying at the far end of his bed. "Move your ass or lose it."

Orochimaru smacked Sasuke across the face, snatched the kunai, and fisted his other hand in Sasuke's hair.

"One more crack like that and I will handcuff you to Kabuto for a week," the sannin hissed, pressing the kunai to Sasuke's neck. Sasuke shrugged.

"Whatever."

Orochimaru's hand moved so fast even the Sharingan could not track it. The kunai was suddenly embedded deep in the target board and Orochimaru was slamming the door. Sasuke grinned and sat up.

"Snakes."

The door creaked open again, and this time Kabuto walked through.

"Sasuke-kun, I have bad news."

"You always do, Kabuto," Sasuke grunted, "but what?"

Kabuto sighed and sat down on the bed next to Sasuke. "Your brother…Itachi, is now our ally."

"…I know, Kabuto-san."

A smile twitched at the corners of Kabuto's lips. "You respect me now?"

Sasuke sighed. "Orochimaru threatened to handcuff me to you for a week unless I shut up about his tiny little ass."

Kabuto thrust down a giggle. "Sasuke-kun, please don't tease him. Besides, he has a gorgeous ass."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Go strip each other of your barely intact virginity in that dark corner."

"What virginity?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "I'm going to pretend we never had that little discussion. It's fun teasing Orochimaru, and he can't, or won't, rather, hurt me because he wants my body. The pervert."

"He's not perverted, Sasuke, he just…" Kabuto paused and sighed. "He just…oh, how can I say this nicely…? He just…he has a twisted dream, that's all. And I support him, no matter what happens. I am his; by will, free choice. I am not bound by any means. I can leave any time I want to. But I don't. And I don't think you know why.

"Look over my entire body, even with the Sharingan, and you will find no seal of any kind. The reason I stay here is because I love him. I will defend him with my life. I have no reason to betray him, and even if there was I never would. So please, Sasuke, do not go against him. Do not crush him now. When he can take it…"

Sasuke sighed. "Fine. Now get lost."

Kabuto stood up and bowed to Sasuke. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke exhaled and flopped back against his pillow. What had he just promised?

**A/N: …YOU SCOTCHED MY SNAKE YOU TURNTURTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	22. Chapter 21: Blossom

Chapter 21

_13 years later, Otokagure_

A young girl dressed in black leggings and armbands with a tan dress over it was throwing kunai at targets. The Otokage, Kage's robes thrown open, was watching her, occasionally throwing in a comment or compliment.

"That's enough, Yumiko," he called. Yumiko slid to a halt, panting. The last kunai slammed into the bull's eye, and Orochimaru wrenched a stray kunai out of another target.

"You're lucky," he said dryly, handing her the kunai. "Again."

Yumiko accepted the kunai and brought her bloodline to the surface. Orochimaru watched, impressed, as she focused her Sharingan, then Byakugan, and then brought out three more kunai. Yumiko threw each kunai in quick succession towards the target nearest Orochimaru.

"You're off!" he called as she hurled the last kunai. Yumiko smirked.

"No I'm not."

Orochimaru realized too late that she had been using trap wire, and within seconds he was lashed to the target pole behind him. The wires bit into his flesh, and he felt the sting of blood rise to the surface as Yumiko grabbed all three wires and pulled.

"Hold still or this will hurt," Yumiko purred, and Orochimaru could hear the smile in her voice as she yanked on the wires again, tying a knot. Orochimaru flinched, but otherwise tried not to move.

"Oh, let him go, brat."

Kabuto wandered over and reached up, snapping the wires around Orochimaru's neck and shoulders first, then his arms and hips. The sudden release caused Orochimaru to pitch forward, directly into Kabuto's chest. Kabuto's arms wrapped around Orochimaru's slender shoulders, and he supported his upper body while reaching down and snapping the wires around Orochimaru's legs and ankles.

"Aw, come on!" Yumiko whined. "Last time, I made him beg!"

"Leave him alone," Kabuto sighed, and held Orochimaru's lithe hips until he regained his balance.

"I'm fine, Kabuto," he muttered, shoving the genin off. "And you-!"

"Leave her, she's fine."

Itachi stood behind his daughter, looking exactly the same as he did thirteen years ago. And it wasn't genjutsu; Itachi just looked…Orochimaru shivered. Even after all these years, he still wanted Itachi's body. And he still looked _divine-_

"Orochimaru, you're a fool."

"Hey!"

Kabuto still hadn't stepped out of the fight. "We can fight this out, or we can let it go and move on. Hai?"

Itachi chuckled, deep chest shaking. His voice was slightly deeper with maturity, but he was still the same in all other aspects. "I'll let the snake keep his sanity a little longer."

Kabuto sighed. He knew it was the best he could get from the Uchiha, and he decided not to push his luck.

"Thank you, let's go."

Orochimaru and Kabuto walked through the training grounds, surveying the ninja sparring. Tayuya and Kimimaro had fallen down in a tangle, laughing and trying to untangle themselves.

"It's a wonder he survived this long," Orochimaru mused, watching Kimimaro. "Long enough for love to blossom."

"He is suddenly responding to treatment," Kabuto said. "his body has suddenly…cast off the disease. I have no idea…" The Otonin shook his head. "It's a miracle. And now he and Tayuya have found love. That may be the reason why Kimimaro is still alive; he has a reason to fight again. When he found out you had given up on him as a container, he lost all will to live; to fight. I felt guilty, like I was forcing him to live…but then he wanted to live again…for Tayuya. And I knew I had made the right decision, keeping him alive this long."

Orochimaru looked out at Kimimaro again. "He's happy…genuinely…happy…"

"And if he is…why aren't you?"

OOOOOOOOO

"Again!"

Kakashi was sparring with Misao, Sharingan bared, using taijutsu to attack. Kakashi had told Misao that she needed to improve her taijutsu, so they were having a purely taijutsu training session.

Misao kicked out at Kakashi again, keeping up her attack.

"Don't give me time to set up another guard! Hit me again!"

Misao's fists flew, and Kakashi skidded to a halt.

"Much better," he praised. "We'll keep doing this during regular training time, then we'll go back to all three attacks when you're up to speed in taijutsu."

Misao nodded and sheathed her kunai. "Thanks. When can I start ANBU training? You promised!"

Kakashi smiled. "Relax, be a little patient. If I can't find anyone to train you, I'll train you myself. I still have my old uniform…"

"The wolf, right?" Kakashi nodded. Misao loved to hear his stories about when he was in the ANBU, and Kakashi had even shown her his old mask.

"Ooooo, I'm excited!!"

"I bet you are. _Never _drink my coffee again!"

"But it was good," Misao mumbled. "And what about-"

"Your mother is on a mission. She should be back tomorrow."

"Hey…dad…?"

Kakashi looked down at his daughter; heart-shaped face framed by golden bangs, the rest of her hair pulled into a high ponytail, gray eyes, deceptively so, staring at him with sheathed Sharingan. Kakashi smiled.

"You're the picture of your mother," he murmured. "But you have _my _eyes."

Misao nodded. "Dad, when did you become an ANBU?"

"Thirteen," Kakashi replied. "I made Chuunin at six, graduating from the Academy at four. I became a jounin at thirteen as well, and ANBU captain at shortly after thirteen."

"And Uchiha Itachi was the same…except he was captain at thirteen, you had to wait a bit."

Kakashi nodded. "Hai, and I was under his command until he went rouge. Then I took over."

Misao shrugged. "Will I take your mask?"

"Only if you want to," Kakashi replied. "But if it helps, I think you should get your own."

Misao shrugged again. "I'll decide when I start training. For now, how about one more round?"

OOOOOOOOO

Tayuya let Kimimaro lean on her as she dragged him into Kabuto's "territory" as they called it, because the Otonin guarded it with his life and limb. The only person Kabuto allowed in there for any purpose besides being healed was Orochimaru, occasionally Sasuke if the brat had a _damn good excuse._

"What?" Kabuto asked, and Tayuya saw him hide something in the pages of his small black medical journal.

"Kimi tore a muscle," Tayuya said, helping the limping blood-limited ninja to a chair. Kabuto pressed a hand to Kimimaro's calf, drawing up healing chakra. "You're good."

"Thank you," Kimimaro said, standing up. "And Orochimaru-sama was limping badly when he came in. He was bleeding rather badly as well. You might want to go check on him."

Kabuto sighed. "Out. I'm locking the door."

Kimimaro and Tayuya skittered out, and Kabuto inserted the key into the lock, twisted it, and placed the key back in his pocket. Tayuya noticed a small bag in his hand before he turned and started to walk away.

"What's-?"

"Sedative."

Tayuya covered her snorts with a hand. "You _sedate _him when you heal him?"

"Sometimes," Kabuto said. "Let's just say the concept of 'hold still' doesn't exactly appeal to him often."

"Poor thing," Kimimaro said. "You're so rough with him, too."

Kabuto yanked off his glove and held out his arm. "Welts," he said, showing them the red sores up and down. "The snakes he can summon…" He shook his head and replaced the glove. "Hot-tempered as he is."

Kimimaro smiled. "Be a little gentler with him and you might get better results."

Kabuto rolled his eyes and continued walking. "Welts," he reminded them.

Tayuya still hadn't stopped laughing.

**A/N: Rawr…sorry about the late update…oh well. You will all live right…? Just don't kill me…–dodges flying kunai, shuriken and other UFO's- I thought I said not to kill me!!!!!**


	23. Chapter 22: Love You Don't See

Chapter 22

"Alright, we're ready."

Misao grinned. "Finally! I can go on my first mission as an ANBU!"

Kakashi smiled. "First you need to go through the ceremony and get your tattoo and armor. _Then _we go and kick Uchiha ass."

"Ooooo, both?"

Kakashi grinned broadly; his daughter truly was her mother…"Of course."

OOOOOOOOO

Yumiko waited while Orochimaru's senbon pierced her skin once. A curving music note swirled from the senbon in black. Yumiko smiled; she was the daughter of an Uchiha, and her blood proved it. So did the fact that Orochimaru had chosen her as his very first ANBU; and Orochimaru was _very _picky about his ninja.

Orochimaru pulled the senbon out of Yumiko's flesh and handed her an intricately carved mask.

"Congratulations," he purred, "on being my first ANBU."

OOOOOOOOO

"Come here, bad boy!"

Tayuya glomp-tackled Kimimaro from behind, almost knocking over the bone-bender. Kimimaro laughed and reached over his shoulder, trying to pull his lover off.

"Get," he said, laughing. "I warn you, my shoulder blades can get pretty sharp."

Tayuya giggled and peeled herself off Kimimaro. "Okay, okay, you win."

Kimimaro smiled and took one of Tayuya's hands in his own, sliding the other around her waist. Tayuya closed her eyes as Kimimaro drew her into a tender kiss.

"Wanna dance?"

Tayuya grinned and Kimimaro spun her around. The two continued, laughing and tripping, while Kabuto watched unseen in the doorway.

"What are we looking at?"

Orochimaru peeked over Kabuto's shoulder. "Oh…yeah, they're cute." _Just like someone else I used to know…_

FLASHBACK

A blonde girl and a black-haired boy sat on the top of a hill, the girl leaning against the boy.

"I signed my summoning contract today."

"Finally! Orochimaru, I was beginning to think you would never choose your animal! What did you choose, anyway?"

"Tsunade…" Orochimaru sighed. "You're cute. I thought you of all people would be able to guess. Snakes, of course."

Tsunade shrugged. "Whatever, I can respect your decision…although personally I hate snakes."

"Thank you, Tsunade. I know how much it must take..."

Tsunade nodded. "Hey, the spring dance is being held at the Academy next week. Wanna come with me?"

"…Sure…why not?"

END FLASHBACK

Orochimaru gave a short, wistful sigh.

"Remembering?" Kabuto asked quietly. Orochimaru slowly nodded, and Kabuto set a hand on his shoulder, gently pulling him back.

"Come on," he said softly. "I made you dinner."

OOOOOOOOO

Shikamaru heard the footsteps.

He just didn't bother to get up.

The tip of a foot prodded his side.

"Hey…Nara…you still alive…?"

Shikamaru sat bolt upright at the sound of the girl's voice. "Temari!"

The blonde smiled. "Up," she said, taking his hand and hauling him up. "I gotta show you something."

She spread her fan and swirled it around, manipulating the air currents to keep the fan afloat several feet above the ground. Climbing on, she helped Shikamaru on and took off-straight up. Shikamaru held on for dear life as Temari took him up into the clouds.

"You keep saying how you want to be a cloud," she said. "And plus, there's a really pretty cove down in the jetty."

"Awesome."

Temari moved her fan slowly through the puffy white clouds, letting Shikamaru enjoy them and laze around. And here," she said, pointing down, "Is the jetty."

Shikamaru looked down. "Awesome…"

Black, craggy rocks jutted out sharply against the sandy beach and rocking waters, and Temari set down at the water's edge. Shikamaru waited for her while she took off her shoes and collected her fan, then, on a whim, took off his own. These he set next to Temari's and waited again.

A mischievous grin slowly spread across Temari's face.

She ran up to Shikamaru, seized his hand, and dragged him into the ocean spray. Shikamaru stumbled after her, laughing, and within seconds the two were splashing each other.

"For a lazy little ass, you're good at this!" Temari laughed. Shikamaru smiled.

"I'm with you," he retorted. "You'll whack me with your fan if I ever stop moving!"

Temari laughed again and kicked up even more water as payback.

OOOOOOOOO

Yumiko slipped on the gloves, the first of the armor Kabuto handed her. The medic was helping her with the armor, and she was glad for his help. He was _cute, _and all her friends said so. That was why they were all so excited when she kept being promoted in rank; closer to the hotties, they said. Yumiko looked at Kabuto as he worked at finding her adequate armor and weapons. Yumiko stared at his back; he had _such _a cute ponytail…and when he was facing her, he had the sexiest smile…

"Here, try this."

Yumiko blushed, embarrassed at her thoughts, and accepted the arm guards from Kabuto. His eyes were so deep and honest at the moment that Yumiko found it hard to believe-

"You like me."

It wasn't a question.

It wasn't a statement.

And it was horribly, horribly, true.

Yumiko sighed. "Well, who doesn't? You're smart, close to Orochimaru, you can calm him with a gentle touch and a few words, you're _insanely _hot-"

Kabuto laughed and handed her a carved mask-the one Orochimaru had personally handed her. "Wait a second," he said, stopping her from putting on the mask. He set his hands on Yumiko's shoulders, simply staring her in the eye for a moment.

"It's funny," he said softly. "I always felt the same way about you."

Yumiko blushed, black bangs falling into her face. Kabuto could see her dark eyes dancing, and he fully understood the crush she had on him. _Girls…_but even so, he felt something…something like a magnet, pulling him towards Yumiko. He leaned forward and kissed her-a quick, chaste one, like he would do to quiet Orochimaru. Yumiko looked so stunned when he pulled away that he almost laughed.

"I'll be coming along on this mission, so you won't be alone," he murmured. "Here."

Kabuto thrust several wrapped senbon into her hand. "Use them wisely. This is Manda's venom, and I paid dearly for it. Please, use it wisely. Only I possess the antidote…aim carefully."

Yumiko nodded and carefully slid the senbon into one of her shuriken holsters. "Thank you."

"Of course."

"I-I'll see you around then…I guess," Yumiko said quietly.

"Yeah…" Kabuto gently pushed her forward. "Good luck."

**A/N: Just my pathetic attempt at Kabuto fluff with anyone but Orochimaru…bleh, whatever. Next chapter will be better, I promise…No seriously, all I do is ItaKaka and OroKabu! Review please…**


	24. Chapter 23: Years Have Passed

Chapter 22

"…You do know this is your absolute last chance?"

"…Hai…"

"And that if you fail here, there is a very small chance you will live?"

"…Hai…"

Kabuto sighed and continued brushing Orochimaru's hair back from his face. "Please don't fail."

Orochimaru shrugged innocently. "If I die, I die. If I can't live for something, I might as die for something."

Kabuto wordlessly picked up a rubber band and tied back Orochimaru's hair, letting a few shorter locks fall forward into his face. Orochimaru pushed them back behind his ears, trying to keep them away from his face, but Kabuto reached out and tugged them free again. "Orochimaru-sama," he finally said, "If you could take over Konoha forever by suiciding…would you?"

Now it was Orochimaru's turn to fall silent. "I suppose I could leave you in charge…but only if you were there, next to me, and only if I was killing someone important, like Tsunade."

Kabuto shrugged. "You would lave me in charge of things if you couldn't-?"

"Don't get any ideas!" Orochimaru snapped. "Things may be falling apart, but I have one last card to play! Don't you dare do anything-!"

Kabuto leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on Orochimaru's forehead. "Of course. Relax, I would never do anything, especially against your will."

"Hmph. And since when were you allowed to fool around with my hair?"

Kabuto smiled. "Cute."

"Hmph."

Orochimaru stood up, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Within the second, he was spun around and slammed into the wall behind him. A hand seized both of his, bound him tightly, and blindfolded him. Cold metal was suddenly pressed to his neck, and it shook with uncertainty.

"What would you do if I told you I wanted to kill you?"

"…Ask you why…"

Kabuto sighed and released Orochimaru, letting him collapse to his knees. "I have no reason," he said quietly. "There is no reason. I just wanted to see you vulnerable one more time, before you became once more the insanely powerful sannin who would crush me to death if I even misstep once."

Kabuto's footsteps began moving away from him.

"Wait!"

Kabuto turned back to the restrained sannin. "What?"

"Get back here and cut me loose."

"You can get yourself untied."

"Kabutooooooo!"

"Don't whine."

With that, Kabuto closed the door, leaving Orochimaru on the floor. True,, Orochimaru could easily break his bonds, but it was unlike Kabuto to even try to bridle him to begin with. And then to threaten his life…Orochimaru twisted his wrists, snapping the ropes. He lifted the blindfold from his face, sighed, and began looking around for his armor."

He could punish that insolent little pup later.

For now, he needed to expend some extra energy.

And he may as well use it for a good purpose: finding out if Kabuto was…or not.

OOOOOOOOO

Misao felt the senbon sink her flesh, and the Leaf swirl branched from it. Tsunade pulled out the needle and handed Misao a carved mask.

"You've really earned this," she said softly, and Misao settled the mask over her features, completing her ANBU uniform.

"Thanks," she whispered. "And now…I think I hear an opportunity."

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, I was tipped off by a spy that Orochimaru is moving towards Konoha, and I suspect he'll be here soon. So, let's go kick some Sound ass!"

The Wolf watched as Misao became the Red Wolf; he himself was the White Wolf. Yes, having two wolves on the same squad would be interesting…

OOOOOOOOO

Yumiko surveyed her squad with approval. Orochimaru had trusted her with an elite squad of jounin, and all of them Yumiko knew, were excellent fighters.

Footsteps sounded, and Orochimaru himself paced towards Yumiko. "Are you ready to go?"

Yumiko nodded. "Yes, I think so. Orochimaru-sama, you're bleeding."

Orochimaru looked down. He had probably rubbed a sore on his wrist getting out of Kabuto's-

"No, your neck."

Orochimaru froze for a second, eyes wide. Then, slowly-very, very, slowly-he reached up and felt for the cut. He felt it immediately, oozing warm blood that soaked his fingers crimson red. Kabuto had…he was really…if it was even Kabuto-

"Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru ignored Yumiko, instead using the blood on his hands to summon. A large purple snake appeared, hissing and spitting what Yumiko suspected was venom.

"Orochimaru, these better be for me," Manda growled. Orochimaru sighed.

"Oh, shut up, I'll reward you after you bring me Kabuto. _Alive, _do you understand?"

Manda hissed angrily, but slunk off, leaving Orochimaru alone in the room with Yumiko. Alone, because everyone else had passed out in fear.

"…Nice snake…"

"…Thanks…"

The two fell silent again just as Manda came crashing back, Kabuto held firmly in his tail. When he reached Orochimaru, Manda threw Kabuto down at Orochimaru's feet and simply _glared._

"Go eat, Manda, your food is in Jiroubou's room."

"It better be," Manda muttered, and slithered off to eat. Orochimaru slowly walked towards Kabuto.

"What…were…you…thinking…?"

Kabuto looked up from the floor and scrambled to his knees. "Wh-What are you talking about…?"

Orochimaru slapped him soundly across the face, and Yumiko gasped at the resounding crack.

"Stop it!" she cried. "What did he ever do?"

Orochimaru seized Kabuto's hair and dragged him up, only to slam him into the wall and hold him by the neck.

"Leave him alone!" Yumiko shouted. "He hasn't done anything!"

"Oh really?" Orochimaru hissed. "Well, he can tell you himself what he did!"

"Let him go!" Yumiko repeated. "How could he have done anything? He was with me the whole time!"

Orochimaru snorted. "How could he have been with you if he was trying to slit my throat?!"

"He wasn't."

Itachi stood in the doorway. "I scared off an assassin in your room earlier posing as Kabuto, but I don't know how you missed the genjutsu…"

Orochimaru wordlessly dropped Kabuto and kicked him over to Yumiko.

"Move out."

"What?" Itachi cried. "Come on, this is going too far! I thought we were going to wait a little longer!"

"The kid's thirteen," Orochimaru said through gritted teeth. "Time's up."

"But we agreed when she was ten to wait until she was fifteen," Itachi countered. "Remember that?"

"Vividly," Orochimaru said dryly. "But Tsunade is going to be moving soon, and we have to beat her to the offensive otherwise we don't stand a chance."

Kabuto felt gentle arms encircle his shoulders, pulling him back into an armored chest. Kabuto accepted Yumiko's embrace, and Orochimaru stalked out. Itachi followed, looking dark and fairly annoyed.

Silence.

"Come on," Kabuto said quietly. "We'd better get going."

Yumiko nodded and slid Kabuto off her lap. "Yeah…" She stood up and put a hand down to Kabuto. Kabuto accepted her hand as well, and stood up with her help.

"You know I could have gotten up by myself?"

"Yeah, so?"

Kabuto smiled, and that was all the warning she got. Kabuto grabbed Yumiko's shoulders, and kissed her passionately. Yumiko was shocked at first; but then again, Kabuto was like that: fast, unpredictable, and drop dead _gorgeous._

Once the initial shock was gone, Yumiko grew bold and shoved back against Kabuto's soft lips. He slightly opened his mouth, and Yumiko's tongue was soon invading his mouth. Yumiko began exploring the hot cavern that was Kabuto's mouth, and he began to kiss her back. Yumiko's tongue dipped and curved, mapping out every crevice and curve inside Kabuto's orifice.

Kabuto pulled back, gasping.

"That…was the best good-luck kiss of my life."

**A/N: Sorry this was so short…well, at least it's not as bad as OkaK. That was short and crappy…**


	25. Chapter 24: I Never Hated You

Chapter 24

Kabuto watched the gates of Konoha for a moment. He remembered his days as a spy here and almost felt bad…the village had almost trusted him, and here he was, backstabbing them all.

Oh, yeah, because he cared. So deeply.

A firm smack on the back of his head brought his attention back to the present. "Kabuto, move."

Orochimaru was standing behind him, and apparently it was he who had smacked him. Kabuto sighed and nodded. "Hai." He turned to the many legions of Otonin behind him and raised his hand.

All attention turned to Kabuto.

The silence was deafening; Kabuto looked to the village gates and waited.

There.

The hawk was on top of the gate, and Kabuto motioned to the gates themselves. The Otonin charged at his command, straight through the open gates. Kabuto went with Orochimaru to stand atop the gates, and took the hawk into hand.

"Yes…" he murmured. "Yes, this time…we succeed."

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi saw the first wave of Otonin coming and nodded to Yasu. Yasu understood and jumped up from behind the tree.

"Kai!"

Ten exploding notes went off at once at Yasu's command, all focused in her bloodline. "Katsu!" More explosions followed, and Itachi could hear the beginnings of screams of panic coming from…everywhere, really. "Katsu!" The last of Yasu's smoke screen went up, and Itachi darted out behind her.

"Yumiko!"

The ANBU charged the building behind them: the Hokage's Tower, her squad close behind. Itachi heard an impact of a fist on brick, and dust and debris immediately followed. Itachi ran up next to his daughter.

"Spread out! Search the entire building! Take no prisoners, save for Tsunade!"

"Hai!"

Yumiko selected two from her squad to follow her, and the rest divided into groups of three to search. Itachi took the last two and ran off in the last direction; the left wing of the Tower.

"Keep going until you find her!" Itachi called. "If anyone else finds her first, they'll let us know!"

"Hai."

Itachi moved in front of the two Otonin he had with him, Sharingan ablaze. "This ends now for you, Tsunade," he whispered, voice taught with rage. "And no one will stop me!"

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi saw the wall go down in front of an Otokagure ANBU; he saw the fist flying towards his face; what he didn't have was time to stop it. He was thrown back with the impact, and he felt the walls bend with the pressure of his body being slammed so hard into the wall. Hands found his own and twisted them up behind his back, and another shoved into his neck's pressure points. He vaguely saw Shizune knocked to the ground next to him, unconscious, and Tsunade fighting off the ANBU that had broken in to begin with. He twisted instinctively against the hold; was that…was it really…?!

"Sasuke…?"

"Nice to see you again…_sensei," _Sasuke spat. "Orochimaru told me to go after you, since I know your weaknesses and all. Pity you're so weak; you can't even fight back now. And I hear you've been having an affair with a certain sannin…Orochimaru-sama was very interested to hear that little bit of information."

Kakashi flinched in pain and tried again to get out of Sasuke's grip. Sasuke only tightened his hold, and Kakashi gasped in pain.

"I was told to take no prisoners," Sasuke spat. "But, since Yasu wants you and we are in an alliance, I suppose it's only fair I give her her prize."

"Sasuke…think twice."

"Don't beg," Sasuke said coldly. "I will hurt you."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I mean…think twice about what you're doing. Wasn't your goal in life to kill Itachi? And he has been in perfect range for so long…and you haven't done anything. And now you are giving him so much power by handing over me…and then you'll never be able to kill him."

Sasuke laughed; at first barely a chuckle, and then a normal, mocking laugh, and then a cruel resonance in Kakashi's head. "Please! You old fool! I always did respect you as an opponent…but after this little display I think you're losing your luster!"

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, Sasuke…but please, before you do this, just ask yourself one question: Did you really think you could catch me like this?"

Sasuke's grin only spread. "Of course! Why do you think I put you in chakra chains?"

Kakashi sighed and tested the waters. It was true; Sasuke had managed to fasten heavy, chakra restricting chains over his wrists, and he hadn't even noticed. Oh well. Kakashi had gotten an honest answer, which was more than he had expected to begin with.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Sasuke purred, pulling Kakashi up. Kakashi didn't really feel like going anywhere, let alone leaving Tsunade, and he kicked back, landing a harsh kick on Sasuke's shin. The missing-nin, obviously unhappy with Kakashi, smacked him. Hard. As Kakashi fell, he caught a glimpse of Tsunade. The Hokage had been backed into a corner and was still fighting back at the Otonin that had attacked her.

"Don't try to kill her!" Sasuke called. "Orochimaru wants her alive!"

"You're not gonna kill him?" Yumiko asked. Sasuke shrugged.

"Yasu wanted him a while ago so I thought I could give him to her."

Yumiko grinned. "Yeah, Mom will be furious if he dies by anyone's hand but hers…but not before she teaches him something."

_Oh GOD-_

Sasuke kicked him absently, foot resting in the middle of Kakashi's back, threatening to break the spine if he even moved. Kakashi made an effort not to; no use tempting the devil.

"Orochimaru-sama doesn't like your girlfriend."

"I'm aware of that. I'm also aware that he doesn't like me."

Sasuke smiled. "Yes, how true. And he _really _hates your kid."

Kakashi sighed. "Yeah, you didn't see that one coming."

"You're funny."

"…Thank you?"

"Hey, Uchiha!"

Sasuke looked up at Yumiko. "What?"

"Oroch is getting antsy, better do something before he flies off the handle."

Sasuke smiled. "Hatake or the Kage?"

Yumiko shrugged. "Both?"

"Good answer."

"Now if she would just hold still for two seconds…"

It was true: Tsunade was constantly Body Flickering from place to place, occasionally throwing a deadly kunai or two. Otonin were slowly going down, struck in vital places: major blood tracks, major chakra points, vital organs, and critical points on the body like the neck. Tsunade seemed to be using Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel and was using it to cut down even more Otonin. Kakashi sighed. _What we need is time-and Tsunade is taking too much of it! If we're going to do some real damage we need a plan, and fast!_

Slow, teasing footsteps echoed in Kakashi's ears.

_Crap, crap, crap-!_

Kabuto was walking up to them, holding a kunai-and Tsunade had her back turned.

"Tsunade, turn around!" Kakashi screamed, unable to do more than try to trip Kabuto from the ground; which he suspected wouldn't work.

Of course it didn't, and all he had to show for his efforts was a new bruise on his ribs.

"Tsunade, you ass, _turn around_!"

Tsunade whipped around, ready to tell Kakashi off for his filthy mouth, when she saw Kabuto. "Aw, shit!" She ducked Kabuto's swing, and suddenly the battle seemed too familiar…

"Mangekyou…Sharingan…Damn it!" Kakashi's Sharingan was still covered…unless…if he got another kick to the face, maybe the headband would come off…screw it. Kakashi twisted, trying to rub the cloth from his eye. Sasuke had still failed to notice his efforts, but if Kakashi could just get the hiata-ait off…there. The headband fell to the ground, and Kakashi focused his Sharingan. "Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Sasuke turned, almost in slow motion. Kakashi caught his eyes and used the reversal jutsu he had copied from Itachi years and years ago.

"Sharingan reversal!"

Kakashi was suddenly standing over Sasuke, who was in exactly the same position Kakashi had been in seconds ago. Kakashi saw Sasuke's eyes widen with shock, and his mouth dropped open.

"How?!"

Kakashi sighed. "Your brother." He charged Tsunade's attackers, pressing his back to hers.

"Hello," Tsunade greeted, as calmly as if she was meeting him on the street.

"Hello," Kakashi said. "So, what's new?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just being attacked by swarms of enemy ninja. You?"

"I was thinking about getting lunch, but then I was attacked by Sasuke and almost kicked into the next life and a half. I dunno, nothing really new."

Tsunade smiled. "Oh yeah, because _that's _normal."

Kakashi's grin matched Tsunade's, and he saw Kabuto slide across the floor and slam into the wall. "Nope, nothing exciting happening here."

"Hey, does this look bad?" Tsunade asked casually, and kicked Kabuto again, this time utilizing her deadly high heels. Kakashi watched the blood flowing from Kabuto's mouth and shook his head.

"Not really, might take stitches for this one, though." He hurled a kunai at Sasuke, whose Sharingan was blazing. Sasuke, apparently, had the key to the chakra chains-either that, or he was mad enough to break them. Tsunade turned around, staring at Sasuke.

"Yeah, if that Chidori hits you, that'll take about four hundred."

Kakashi grinned as Sasuke rushed him, Chidori Nagashi crackling like his own Raikiri. Tsunade stepped back. "Work it out."

The world stopped for the two ninja.

Sasuke's Chidori was flying straight for Kakashi, whose own Raikiri was raised only in defense. The two lightning flashes clashed violently, and Kakashi's world faded to black, Sasuke falling on top of him.

"Sasuke...I never hated you…"

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade saw Sasuke and Kakashi go down, but she didn't see any blood. Was either actually hit, or were they just…?

An impact on her back drew her attention to Kabuto, who was holding a fistful of chakra.

"I thought you'd fall over too," he confessed. "I don't get it, the calculations according to weight and force-"

"Sad story, kid."

Tsunade's own fist lined with chakra, and she punched Kabuto in the face. The Otonin skidded back, crashing through the wall and into-

Orochimaru's arms?

"Since when do you care?" Tsunade sneered. "I thought you didn't care if you couldn't use him."

Orochimaru shook his head and laid Kabuto in the arms of a medical Otonin. "No," he said slowly. "If he doesn't live, neither do you," he snarled, and the medical Otonin almost passed out. "No," Orochimaru repeated, stepping up to Tsunade. "He's wonderful, and totally devoted to me. That's that, really."

Tsunade smiled. "He's cute, but then again, so were you when you were a kid."

Orochimaru lowered his head. "No, it's not a question: just a lesson you learn in time. You can only trust one person, ever. There's always one person and one person only who would never, not even for the whole world or life, betray you. Kabuto is that one person for me…and apparently, Kakashi is that person for you." Orochimaru looked at the fallen White Fang and sighed. "Well, I came here for you, but I guess Sasuke needs me more now."

Tsunade threw the boy at him, spitting nails. "Take him," she hissed. "I don't want him. And get out of my village."

Orochimaru smiled. "And what if I say no?"

Tsunade sighed. "I was afraid of that…" She dove at Orochimaru, blue chakra flaming along her hands. "I just need you out, and from then on, I really don't care."

Orochimaru tipped his head back, Kusanji welling up in his throat. "Good, because I have things to do."

Tsunade swung her fist and Orochimaru dodged, letting Tsunade's fist bury itself in the wall. Tsunade wrenched his hand free and went after Orochimaru again.

"Yeah, what kind of things?" she panted, already tired from her previous battle. The Body Flicker really took a lot out of her…

"The kind of things no one needs to know about," Orochimaru said, swinging Kusanji around to draw a thin line of blood on Tsunade's arm; thinner than he would have liked.

"Yeah, like what?" Tsunade knew she had to finish this quickly if she ever wanted to get out of this alive, let alone win. She was confident in her own shinobi, but the person she had really lost faith in was herself.

"Nothing, nothing," Orochimaru said absently, jumping again for Tsunade's arm. Tsunade ducked underneath the sword and up against Orochimaru's chest. Orochimaru looked down too late-Tsunade's fist went up against his jaw, and he went flying back to crash into the wall. A veil of red descended on the world, and Orochimaru fought back a whimper as it did. Blood streamed from the corner of his mouth-dammit, how could he have been so careless?! Kabto had probably said it before, he had just neglected to listen..._you shouldn't do this, _or _You're a little over confident. _He knew this was it-he was just sorry he hadn't heeded Kabuto advice, and sorry that Kabuto couldn't be here with him. But he could at least try...for Kabuto, if not for himself. He threw Kusanji blindly, knowing her had just lost it all. Tsunade easily bent around the strike, and Orochimaru tried to call Kusanji back.

He was too late.

Tsunade spoke, and Orochimaru knew that these might very well be the last words he ever heard.

"I never could bring myself to truly hate you…"

And the blow fell.

**A/N: Wow, I so can't spell today…Yay, spell check!! Anyway, This was probably bad, but oh well. Our epic is coming to a close!! Oh well. Tell me what you think, and review please!!**


	26. Chapter 25: Romeo and Juliet: Seppuku X2

Chapter 25

Kabuto watched in horror, paralyzed by the Sakura Shintenshin from miles away, as Tsunade struck the final blow. Orochimaru's body arched as it fell; to Kabuto, the world crashed to a halt.

His wounds stopped bleeding.

His head stopped pounding.

His injuries stopped screaming for attention.

There was only Orochimaru, falling down and crumpling into a heap at Tsunade's feet, blood soaking the floor and Tsunade's hands. Kabuto heard a scream from far away, screaming in desperation, denying Orochimaru's death-and only then did Kabuto realize that the voice was his own; _he _was screaming for Orochimaru, _he _was denying the death of the person he held dearest, _he _was right next to the sannin, dying, bleeding his heart out-

"_Katsu!!!"_

The seal released, and Kabuto suicided in a devastating explosion.

Tsunade was the only one who ran out of the burning building, carrying an unconscious Kakashi.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi was panting and sweating profusely. The battle had looked fantastic at first, but as soon as the Konoha ninja had shaken off their surprise they fought back with greater numbers than the Otonin had prepared for, and suddenly Itachi and the Otonin were outnumbered three to one. Itachi sighed. Great, just great. He had also lost track of Yasu and Yumiko in the midst of the fighting, and he was _quite _unhappy about that last bit…

"Itachi-sama!"

Itachi glanced up at the Otonin captain who had just ran up to him. "Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto were just reported dead. We found their bodies in the Hokage's Tower. Orochimaru was killed; Kabuto suicided, and it looks like he took a lot of them with him. Unfortunately, we also lost Uchiha Sasuke, who was unconscious, but alive, at the time. I believe you are now in charge of things, and you had best make a decision fast."

"Get the fuck out of here," Itachi snarled. "We're retreating. We lost Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto-we're out. If I don't have to fight because Oroch wants to-screw it, withdraw."

The captain nodded and sprang up into the trees, carrying the order to retreat. Itachi sighed. Now, what had been gained from this?

Absolutely nothing.

And far more was lost than could ever be recovered.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi sat in Orochimaru's office the next day, sifting through papers and files. A knock on the door drew his attention to it.

"What?"

Yasu stood there, looking crest fallen.

"What?" Itachi repeated, running up to her and taking her into his arms. "What happened? God, Yasu, _what happened?"_

"It's Yumiko!" Yasu cried. "She's gone, we can't find her-not even her clothes!"

"Goddammit!" Itachi spat. "I'm going to look for her. If I don't come back in three days, you're in charge. Don't come after me-I don't want to drag you into this. I'm taking a squad."

Yasu clutched at Itachi as he brushed past her. "But-what about-"

"Screw it," Itachi muttered. "I'll be back!" he promised, and kissed his wife one last time before he left.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade laid Kakashi back against the pillow and began unwinding the bandages from his wounds. Kakashi didn't seem too affected by anything at this point; he was quiet, withdrawn, and no one laid claim to a word from him being spoken except Tsunade.

"Kakashi," she said as she unwrapped the bandages across a laceration in his wrist. "What happened…between you and Sasuke…?"

Kakashi sighed and looked away. The one and only topic he didn't feel like talking about…

"Sasuke was like a son to me," he said quietly. "Our Sharingan were eventually our downfalls, and we both never really learned to use it. We both had tragic pasts, and we both chose never to look back. We both made unbelievable mistakes, and we both suffered equally for them. Only Sasuke…Sasuke made those choices for the wrong reasons."

Tsunade nodded. "What was Sasuke talking about when he referred to you as Yasu's 'prize'?"

"The Slave Curse."

Tsunade could hear how harsh and bitter Kakashi sounded, and she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his exposed Sharingan. "I need to get you something to cover this," she said, and stood up. "Right back."

Sure enough, Tsunade returned with a Konoha headband. She handed it to Kakashi and waited for him to finish as he tied to around his head and pulled it down over the Sharingan. Then, she carefully picked up his wrist and a damp cloth and began cleaning dried blood from his wounds.

"Are you okay?"

Kakashi gave her a tiny shrug. "Not really…physically, yes, I'll be fine, but my head feels like there's all this hard, compacted sand squished in it…"

Tsunade smiled. "Clever analogy, but I know what you're talking about. It's not as bad as the Mangekyou, is it?"

"No, no!" Kakashi said quickly, somehow remaining perfectly still as Tsunade went over a wound in his forearm. "No, not that bad, but I do feel off balance. Mentally."

Tsunade nodded and unscrewed the cap on a bottle of ointment. "Yeah, I know how that feels," she said, smearing some across an abrasion in Kakashi's same wrist. "Try to get some sleep after I finish up with you, then we'll see how you feel in the morning."

Kakashi nodded. "Thanks," he whispered. He was feeling tired already…and Tsunade' bed was really comfortable…

Tsunade knew Kakashi had fallen asleep on her; she just didn't care.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi raced through the woods on his way back to Otoga. Yumiko was nowhere to be found, and he had yet to find even a trace of her anywhere; not even a scent. Sighing, he stepped through the double gates at the Otoga border, heading for Orochimaru's, now his, complex. Maybe if Yasu was there…

Yasu wasn't there. A guard told Itachi she had left with a strange bottle of…well, _something _shortly after Itachi left, and she had yet to return. Stricken with grief and fearing the worst, Itachi slowly went back to his room.

It was all over. Everything. Yumiko was gone, Yasu was gone, they had failed every single attempt to retake Konoha, they had lost most of their ninja, and for Itachi, there was no future. Sasuke had died, and therefore Itachi would simply die of old age. Humiliating. Well, he could make it look like a murder…Oh, forget it, nothing was really worth the trouble. Itachi scribbled a note on a scrap of paper, placed his ring in it, and set it on the bathroom counter. He held the tanto against his chest, searching for the best place to plunge it in. Suiciding would give him back his honor, and he could be with his wife and daughter again…

Itachi found his heart and held the blade firmly, trembling with anticipation. "I'm coming, Yasu," he murmured, and shoved on the blade. "Be a little patient…"

And the blood started to flow.

OOOOOOOOO

"Itachi!" Yasu called "I found her! I found Yumiko! Itachi!"

Yasu pushed open the door to their apartment, looking around for Itachi and still calling for him. She noticed that the bathroom light was on, but the door was open. Confused, she stepped into the bathroom-

And almost tripped over Itachi.

Yasu was horrified at first-What had happened? Was Itachi attacked? Her observatory skills immediately picked up the finer points of the murder/suicide…or whatever had happened. Itachi's ring was missing. So, the Akatsuki was all or nothing…or maybe the ring had power, and someone wanted that power…wait, there it was! The ring…lying on a piece of paper on the counter. So it was a suicide…Yasu felt her heart breaking into thousands of pieces at this new piece if information, but maybe there was still hope; maybe Itachi hadn't left her…Yasu picked up the paper and began to read, setting the ring aside.

_To whoever finds this:_

_I apologize for leaving you all, but I must return to my wife and daughter. I owe them something, and if I stay in this world, I will be betraying them; leaving them for nothing. And since my brother can no longer kill me, my last reason for remaining here has been vanquished. But, if you miss me, bear in mind-people do not truly die. Dying is a total lack of life, and I believe that there is life elsewhere-just not here. Not to the fullest. Out there, all the definitions of heaven come together to one common end-perfection. Life. Life to the fullest being lived by everyone, and only when you die for a reason, for a purpose, can you go there. Until then, you are caught in a vicious circle of life, never to step out until you have achieved your purpose in life. Yumiko, I am so sorry if you are still alive. Yasu, I am so sorry if you are still with her. But there is nothing to indicate so, and so I must leave you all._

_I'm so sorry for anyone who wanted me to stay._

_Take care of this ring and unlock its secrets. Never let it fall into the wrong hands and take care of it. Only in the right hands will its true power emerge._

_I apologize again if you loved me. Take this ring as a token of my gratitude for wanting me, and I wish you all good fortune in using this ring's power._

_With love, Yumiko-_

_Itachi_

Yasu glanced down; the blade was still in Itachi's chest, dripping poison to ensure the death. Yasu pulled the tanto from Itachi's body and looked for more traces of the poison.

"Oh, Itachi, could you spare me not one drop to ensure that I would be with you?" She sighed and quickly found her heart's position. "Oh, powerful blade, do the work of a thousand shinobi!!" Yasu plunged the blade into her chest and felt her life slip away…just as footsteps sounded outside the apartment door.

OOOOOOOOO

Yumiko gently pushed open the door, looking around for Yasu. Yumiko herself had long lost all her energy, but she still had enough to get back to the apartment. That was weird; the bathroom light was on, but the door was wide open, and from the shadows, it seemed someone was in there…no, two people-both on the ground? That couldn't be good…Yasu gulped down a glass of water; she was severely dehydrated, but the water she had found and boiled in the forest had served her well enough. She put down another, and then went the bathroom as slowly as she could.

"Mom? Dad?"

No one answered her.

Yumiko's heart pounded in her chest as she took the final step to the bathroom and looked in the door-

Her heart stopped.

Both her parents lay dead on the floor.

Yumiko's breathing accelerated, and she quickly spotted the piece of paper lying on the counter. A suicide note? But from whom? And her father's ring was on the counter as well, pushed to the side. Yumiko skimmed the note quickly; yes, it was a suicide note, and it was her father's writing. So Itachi had killed himself, mistakenly thinking both Yumiko and Yasu were dead, then Yasu came back ahead of Yumiko, read the note, and killed herself with Itachi's own tanto, which she had pulled from his chest, and then Yumiko had arrived. Yumiko picked up the ring; true powers…?

"Into the great unknown," she murmured, and slipped the ring onto her finger. She had become so numb at that point; she didn't feel the tears streaming down her cheeks; she didn't hear the sobs wracking her body; she didn't feel herself falling on top of Itachi's cold and lifeless body and crying even harder, knowing they were both gone…

Yumiko ended up passing out over her parent's bodies.

**A/N: Oh, beware the angst!! Yikes, this was a chapter to remember…I bet I scared some people. Anyway, please review, and tell me if you had nightmares after reading this.**


	27. Chapter 26: Before and After

Chapter 25

Yumiko stood over her parents' graves, a single rose in her hands. She quietly knelt down and placed the rose atop the mound of freshly overturned soil, closing her eyes. _At least they went together…they must have really loved each other…_

A hand on her shoulder startled her.

Yumiko turned around, surprised; she hadn't seen anyone follow her…

"I have skills."

"Who are you?"

The person looked like Kabuto; the perfect picture of her former boyfriend. It was probably someone Henged…

"I'm me," "Kabuto" said simply. Yumiko glared.

"Kabuto blew himself up," she spat, standing up. "And how _dare _you try to convince me otherwise?! I watched him die…" She shook her head, black hair flying back and forth. "I can't stand it!"

"Kabuto" stepped closer to her and lifted her face. "Try your bloodline."

Yumiko's Byakugan and Sharingan crackled to life, glaring at "Kabuto." She focused the Sharingan part of it, still staring "Kabuto" right in the face.

No flames appeared around his figure.

Yumiko's jaw dropped. "Then-that was-"

"A clone," Kabuto said. "I thought Orochimaru had done the same…apparently not, otherwise I _would_ have killed myself."

Yumiko heard how hard and bitter his voice sounded. She stepped up to him and put her arms around him, sharing in his sorrow. "I'm sorry."

Kabuto shook his head and returned the embrace. "We can be miserable together, right?"

Yumiko nodded, inhaling his scent. He smelled like the forest after a rain, and the skies were still cloudy. Rain was hovering over them like the deep purple clouds overhead, and Yumiko could smell it.

"Come on," Kabuto said as the first drops began to fall. "We better get inside."

Yumiko nodded, and they ran for the complex as it started to pour.

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade glanced at Misao, standing in front of her wearing her ANBU gear and a very sour expression.

"Well?"

"Nothing," Misao spat. "Not even a body."

Tsunade sighed. "Then he's still alive."

Misao nodded. "How's Dad?"

"He's live."

Misao nodded again. "So…what happens now…?"

"We wait for another move from Sound. If it never comes, they're smart. If it comes, they're incredibly stupid."

Misao snorted. "Well, at least it's true…what about Orochimaru?"

"Dead and buried."

"Found Jiriaya?"

"Sure did. In a pub."

Misao laughed and sighed at the same time. Tsunade didn't even know it was possible. "Well, what was he doing?"

"What Jiriaya does best: goofing off and 'researching.'"

Misao grinned. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Shower, clean up, and change Kakashi's bandages."

"Again?"

"That's funny."

Kakashi emerged from the bedroom, looking very disoriented. "Hey, I'm still alive, you know," he grouched. "Forgotten me already?"

"Only missing you more," Tsunade murmured, sliding an arm around Kakashi's waist and avoiding the broken ribs. She gently kissed him and reached for the mask.

"Watch," Kakashi warned. "We have an audience."

"I'm leaving," Misao said quickly. Tsunade grinned and kissed Kakashi again over the mask, waiting for Misao to leave to pull the mask off and kiss him full on the mouth.

"You taste so much better when that stupid mask-"

"Don't go insulting me," Kakashi whispered, pretending to be genuinely hurt. "I can bite you at any time, you know."

"I wouldn't care."

"Not in front of the kids!"

Tsunade smiled. "Fine, fine; we can take this to the bedroom."

OOOOOOOOO

Temari sat down next to Shikamaru, grinning impishly.

"What?"

The Nara broke the silence in response to Temari's childish expression. "What?" he repeated, and Temari's grin only widened.

"Guess what today is?"

"August twenty-third?"

Temari smiled. "Don't play stupid with me, I saw it in the basement freezer…"

"Aw…" Shikamaru smiled. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

He got up from his bed, leaving Temari lounging in the corner in a beanbag chair. The kuniochi sat with her legs crossed, that sly grin still on her face. Shikamaru smiled and went downstairs to the freezer. Temari's present was down there…Shikamaru opened the freezer door and pulled out an ice cream cake: Temari's favorite desert, because she could rarely get a hold of it in Sunaga.

Shikamaru went back up to his room, gathering two plates, a knife, and two forks on his way up. Temari was still sitting in exactly the same spot when he walked back in, and Shikamaru grinned and handed her the cake.

"Surprise," he said dryly. Temari smiled, stood up, and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love it."

Shikamaru smiled and set it down on his desk, took the cover off, and cut a slice for him and one for Temari.

"Happy birthday."

He handed her a card and smiled. Temari read the front, then opened it and read the inside. A soft smile slowly spread across her face, and she carefully set down her cake as Shikamaru did the same. He knew what was coming.

Temari jumped on him like a cat, tackling him around the neck and tipping him over backwards. Shikamaru burst out laughing, and Temari kissed him again.

"Thank you," she murmured, and slowly crawled off Shikamaru. She curled up in the beanbag chair again and began eating her cake, cool as a cat, acting like nothing had happened. Shikamaru smiled and sat up, then picked up his own cake and took a bite.

"Like it?"

Temari nodded vigorously, and Shikamaru smiled. "Good, then I know you."

Temari nodded again. "Yes, you do. You're my boyfriend, I'd be worried if you didn't know my favorite desert."

"What kind of boyfriend doesn't know what his girlfriend's favorite desert is?" Shikamaru asked, feigning shock. "I'd have to break up with you because you deserved someone better!"

Temari finished her cake and sat back, sighing with pleasure. "You're the best boyfriend ever," she said. "And that was the best cake I've ever eaten!"

Shikamaru finished his cake an picked up the plates and silverware. "Could you take that please?" he asked, jerking his head towards the cake. Temari nodded, picked up the cake, and followed Shikamaru downstairs with it.

Shikamaru put the dishes in the sink, took the cake from Temari, and put it in the freezer, this time in the one attached to the refrigerator. Then he and Temari went back up to Shikamaru's room.

Temari grinned when she saw the Shoji board set up.

"You first."

OOOOOOOOO

Yumiko sighed as she went through paperwork scattered around Orochimaru's headquarters. Kabuto was helping her, and they had already announced formal takeover, since everyone else had died. Kabuto was now handing off papers to the Sound Five and confiscating Jiroubou's bag of chips. "Stop eating!" he screamed in exasperation. "Or if you're going to eat like an Akimichi, at least eat something healthy!"

Kabuto turned around and chucked the half-empty bag into the garbage can in the corner. Jiroubou looked crushed.

"Moving on: Orochimaru-sama left no will of any sort, given that he thought he was immortal, so I have taken possession of most of his belongings. His experiments and such; his personal possessions I have left as they were. I'll decide what to do with them later. But for now, I have secured all experiments and such and freed all test subjects and prisoners. We have no use for them anymore. I have either altered or altogether wiped their memories, and that should take care of itself. As for you all-either stay with me and obey me as you would Orochimaru-sama, or I can wipe part of your memories and let you do whatever you want. I will offer this to anyone in this village, but specially the ninja. I also have reason to believe that Orochimaru-sama left a record of everything that transpired here, but I have yet to find it. But I am fairly certain of its location and will commence my search shortly after I take care of the immediate crisis. Kimi, you have a choice, the same as everyone else, but you may want to stay with me, as I can continue treating this disease to make sure it never comes back. We may never be certain if it will return or not."

Kimimaro nodded, and Kabuto handed him a paper. "A record of what I've been doing to fight off this disease, should you decide to leave," Kabuto said, and handed a paper to Tayuya.

"Don't lose it, it's your physical records and ninja registration. Everyone else has theirs, I don't know why you don't have yours."

Tayuya nodded. "Thanks."

"Jiroubou, watch your diet. Ukon, Sakon has the final say in anything physical because it's his body. Sakon, respect your brother. Kidomaru, don't kill someone just because they killed a spider. There are many more spiders in the world. Kimi, drink your milk."

Yumiko smiled. "Hey, Kabuto!"

Kabuto turned around. "What?"

"This."

Kabuto glanced at Yumiko's discovery; a small, red ring that read "Sora." Kabuto picked it up and began turning it.

"It's his Akatsuki ring," Kabuto murmured. "I thought it was on his hand…"

Yumiko shook her head. "Decoy."

Kabuto shrugged. "Well, that's Orochimaru-sama for you. Anyway, I wonder why he even hid it to begin with…probably contains a portion of his soul or something."

Yumiko smiled. "Ushi, saru, u, ne, inushishi, tori, uma, tora, ne, tora, inu, tora, mi, ne, saru, ushi, saru, hitsuji, ne…"

Kabuto watched in fascination as Yumiko chanted and formed signs over the ring, unlocking its deadly secrets. Yumiko continued to chant, her hands flashing to match her chanting. Finally, she paused and set both hands on the ring, a spark of chakra discharging into the ring. A scroll appeared, tied with a red satin ribbon and signed in elegant kanji-

"Orochimaru-sama's writing," Kabuto whispered, and picked up the scroll. His heart pounded as he slid the ribbon off and cracked the seal. He slowly opened the scroll, staring at the kanji spiraling down its entire length.

"To my pet-Kabuto," the silver-haired ninja read slowly. "I always treasured you above even Sasuke, and I want to give this to you before I die. However, if I cannot, I trust that anyone with sense in his or her head will give this to you, hai? And if they do not…well, let's not think about that. I want all my experiments to go to you-do what you want with them, but I pray you will use them for the good of the village. You are in charge of Sound if I die, so take good care of it. No one deserves it better than you, anyway. Don't fail me now.

"Jiroubou-Stop eating, hell! Tayuya-Kabuto knows where the soap is. Kidomaru-I smashed a spider yesterday. Bite me. Ukon-Sakon has the final say. It's his body, bloody hell! Sakon-you still have to respect your brother. Kimi, get enough calcium to keep your bones from falling apart, and trust whatever Kabuto does. Be nice to him. Yumiko-God, Yumiko, you better not give Kabuto as much mouth as you gave me! If I ever…well, I lived.

"Let Itachi know I never really trusted him-if I'm not dead already I should be by the end of next hour or so. Yasu was pretty and powerful and a great ally, but she could be a pain with Itachi and crap. Tell Tsunade I love her-sarcastically of course. If you weren't backhanded you failed your mission.

"And finally, to all the shinobi of this village…

"…I'll see you in hell."

Kabuto smiled as he got to the end of the scroll, and re-rolled it, wordlessly sealing it again and slid the ribbon back over it. He walked away without a sound, and Yumiko watched him with interest.

_Orochimaru-sama…_

_I won't fail you…not again._

**A/N:…all so cute and fluffy…**


	28. Chapter 27: Regret and Sorrow

Chapter 27

Shikamaru lost a game of Shoji.

Temari suspected he let her win, but Shikamaru looked so stunned when she finished him off it remained only a suspicion. Temari did a touchdown dance at the end, and Shikamaru still looked like he couldn't believe it. He looked ready to pull his ponytail out.

Temari grinned and they shook hands when Shikamaru had gotten over his shock and Temari had finished her dance.

Then they proceeded to make out in the middle of the room.

OOOOOOOOO

Misao finished showering very quickly; she wanted to get clear before her parents really got started. But, to her surprise, there wasn't any noise from the bedroom. Misao threw on a pair of sleep pants and a cami, walked back to the bathroom, put her towel in the laundry basket, and went to her parents' bedroom. She tried to doorknob-it wasn't locked. Hesitantly, Misao opened the door.

Both of her parents were asleep on the bed.

Misao grinned and backed out. Tsunade and Kakashi were probably both so exhausted they were about to fall into a coma. A full day's and night's sleep would do them both wonders. Misao glanced at the clock next to Tsunade's bed; 9:30. Misao sighed and went downstairs to the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

Iruka was sitting at the table.

"What?" Misao asked. She knew Iruka; he was a quiet Chuunin who had the skills of a jounin, but he wanted to remain a Chuunin to respect his parents' wishes. His parents had never wanted him to be a ninja, despite being shinobi themselves. They claimed they wanted to spare delicate Iruka the pain. Iruka, though, against all odds, rose to be an excellent shinobi rapidly. However, after the Kyuubi attack, Iruka just seemed to lose it. He became quiet, withdrawn, and unstable. Sarutobi helped him up, though, but Iruka just didn't want to go any further. Sarutobi accepted his decision to remain a Chuunin and let him do what he thought was right.

"I have something for Tsunade-sama."

"She passed out in the bedroom."

Iruka's eyes widened, and Misao smirked. She loved scaring him too much…

"Nothing like that, stupid. She's not drunk, and she didn't go out on a gambling spree. She's just tired. Did you see her whooping ass out there?"

"Yeah, but still…" Iruka shook his head. "It doesn't stop one from worrying. Anyway, she asked for a few papers and statistics-"

"Of course, just give them to me, I'll give them to her when she wakes up. She's always a bear if you wake her up, so I don't think you want to risk your neck just yet."

Iruka nodded. "I'm too young to die."

He handed Misao a thick envelope, and Misao took it without any questions. "You want anything? Something to drink?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks, though."

Misao shrugged. "Suit yourself. I need something to eat though…"

"Go ahead, I ate already."

"Thanks."

Iruka sat quietly for a moment, until Misao broke the uncomfortable silence. "So…what exactly are those papers…?"

"Calculations of losses and casualties. Math equations. Mission and medical records."

Misao nodded. "How come you have a brain the size of a watermelon, and mine sometimes seems to be the size of a grape?"

"I'm twice your age."

"Your head's not even that big!"

Iruka shrugged. "I'm smart?"

Misao smiled and opened the door to the fridge. "Leftovers," she said. "Not so bad if you've been eating nothing but your entire life."

Iruka laughed. "Better than having a brain the size of a watermelon."

"Not better; you probably know how to cook."

"…This is true…"

"See?"

Iruka smiled. "Whatever. Will you get those to Hokage-sama as soon as possible?"

"Hai, hai; don't worry!"

Iruka sighed. _"Get them to her."_

"_Go."_

Iruka sighed again and slipped out of the house as quietly as he had come in. Misao fell onto the couch with her plastic container of leftovers and began to eat. She wondered when her parents were likely to wake up; it was probably going to be a while, given how exhausted both seemed…

Misao set her now-empty plastic container aside, stretched out, and fell asleep.

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto sat on Orochimaru's bed, idly fingering the edges of the sheets. He remembered making the bed only a few days ago…and no one would ever disturb it again. He might have had to make it one last time if Orochimaru had only lived a little longer…

Kabuto fell back against the many pillows he had stacked against the headboard, drawing a deep breath and fighting back tears. With that deep breath, he also inhaled a bit of the scent on the pillows; smoke and sandalwood. The pillows still smelled like him…Kabuto had always wondered what gave him that unique scent. Maybe it was what he washed with…Kabuto looked to the side and saw several strands of black hair. Kabuto sat up and moved the pillows slightly to the side, looking for the source.

A lock of black hair, tied with a red satin ribbon and a small note, lay underneath.

_My dearest Kabuto-_

_I know you'll go snooping around after I leave-and I would expect nothing less. You'll probably be looking for something to remember me by, something to ease the pain, if only a bit. So, I want you to have this. It's from my original body, and I took it as well as my hand, just in case I ever cared about anyone enough to want them to be able to remember me not as their tyrant leader, but as someone they cared about-a friend. And I'm probably underestimating you, in that you'll wait until I'm gone to look for this, but hey, you never know…if anyone else finds this, bad things will happen. So, don't let anyone find it!! Keep it close to you at all times, and don't let anyone else ever have it. Burn it with you when you die, because no one will ever deserve this as much as you do. Good luck finding my experiments. If you can find them, you can have them._

_Ja ne,_

_Orochimaru-sama_

Kabuto smiled and fingered the lock of hair, knowing that Orochimaru knew him far too well. He would obey the sannin's last words, in a way…

The door creaked open, and Kabuto slid the lock of hair back into the pillows. Tayuya stood in the doorway, looking forlorn and distant.

"I once slept in here…as a prank…we wound up having an affair. For a while, Orochimaru-sama loved me…and then…he just…stopped, is really the best way to put it. He told me he couldn't be with me anymore, so I respected his wishes and walked out. But then I found out he had been cheating on me, and I was so mad I ran away. Kimi brought me back, and Orochimaru-sama and I just ignored each other for a while. And then…Kimi and I started to like each other. I was hesitant, but eventually we wound up with each other and so far…things are looking great."

Kabuto smiled. "I'm happy for you."

"Good!" Tayuya said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood. "Otherwise, I might bop you over the head with…this pillow!" She picked up one of the pillows and gave Kabuto a whack on the head. Kabuto shook his head and handed her the note. Tayuya read it slowly, failing to notice that it was a genjutsu from Kabuto to hide the real one. It was similar, but Kabuto had taken out the parts about Orochimaru's last gift to him. Tayuya finished, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and handed the note back to Kabuto.

"He really liked you…"

Kabuto nodded. "He did…he left it here." He pointed to the pillow in front of him. "He said he knew I would go looking around once he was gone, so he left it here…"

Tayuya nodded, then leaned forward and sniffed at the pillows. "Still smells like him…"  
Kabuto's tears began to grow thick and heavy. He tried to blink them back, but the tears were so big, they overflowed onto his cheeks. Kabuto felt two arms tenderly circle his shoulders, and Tayuya wrapped her arms around him, trying to offer a small bit of comfort. Kabuto took a shuddering breath and waited.

Tayuya was crying, too.

OOOOOOOOO

Kimimaro glanced at the picture of himself with Orochimaru. That damn bastard…he had played him. And Kimimaro needed someone like him, or whom he thought he was, that he played right into Orochimaru's hands. It was sad, really. And then he found out about Tayuya-just everything, really. And he finally broke free of the illusion Orochimaru had cast over him. He was now very happy that he had gotten sick and Orochimaru had abandoned him-he still had his soul. And then Kabuto…he had yet to thank Kabuto and Tayuya, to that extent, for breaking Orochimaru's veil of beauty. Kimimaro picked up the picture and stared at it for another minute. He must have been five…

Kimimaro hurled the picture across the room, hearing the glass shatter. He pulled his knees into his chest, yanking the clasps from his hair-

And cried.

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto heard the glass shattering and ran into the next room; Kimimaro's. The teen was curled up on his bed, knees pressed to his chest, face buried in his knees, sobbing his heart out.

"Kimi, what's wrong?"

Kabuto cried, rushing over to him. "Are you hurt? What happened? I heard glass…"

Kabuto noticed the glass in the corner and sighed. He went over to the patch of shattered glass and gently tugged the picture from the broken frame. He exhaled slowly when he saw it, and suddenly understood what Kimimaro was upset about.

"Please don't scare me like that."

Kimimaro didn't react at all. Kabuto went back to him and wrapped his arms around him, pulling the teen into his chest. Tayuya tackled them both.

"Group hug!"

Kimimaro couldn't help but laugh at this, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. "Since when were you a prep?"

"I'm not," she said. "But I'm sick of everyone moping over that bastard!"

"Amen," Kimimaro said dryly. He clasped Tayuya's upraised hand, and Kabuto pulled himself out of the tangle. "Um…what now…?"

Kabuto smiled. "We find a purpose for this place-we become a normal shinobi village. We learn from Orochimaru-sama's mistakes, and we make ourselves as decent as possible. I know it won't ever be enough to completely compensate for Orochimaru-sama's deeds, but we can try."

Kimimaro nodded. "And…Tayuya wants to get pregnant."

Kabuto's eyes widened.

"What…the…_fuck…?"_

**A/N: Well, there's the joke of the day…review please, no flaming.**


	29. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Otoga did become a normal ninja village, and Kabuto was its second Otokage. Tayuya and Kimimaro only ended up having one child, but she was more than enough for them. Her name was Misao, and she had also inherited Kimimaro's bloodline and became the most fearsome fighter the village had ever produced. She trained under Kabuto for a time, and he claimed she had the potential to be the next Otokage. She rose spectacularly to the occasion, becoming the youngest Kage in history at sixteen. Kabuto mysteriously vanished after stepping back from Otokage; many rumors ran wild, but none were true, and none had much, if any, basis. Several claimed to have seen Kabuto around Orochimaru's gravestone, but he always vanished in a cloud of mist as soon as he was seen. Misao never mentioned him, and he soon became a popular character for fireside tales and legends.

Yumiko disappeared with Kabuto, but no one ever laid claim to seeing her. A rumor started that she haunted Orochimaru's grave as payback for driving her parents into suicide, but the rumors were quickly refuted. Orochimaru was not forgotten as quickly, though. It took twenty years just to clean out his lair, and another five to erase his records. Otoga signed an alliance with Konoha and adhered to it this time.

Tsunade and Kakashi remained together until death. Kakashi took a poisoned needle meant for Tsunade, and she was hit again trying to heal him. The two died next to each other, but their sacrifice was not in vain. Tsunade activated a suicide jutsu as she died, taking at least a hundred enemy ninja with her as she died. The village was saved that day, and two new names were added to the memorial stone.

Shikamaru and Temari, of course, ended up married with two children. One, the girl, had inherited Temari's stubborn streak, and the boy was a miniature version of Shikamaru. Both became exceptional jounin, and they became the next liaisons between Sunaga and Konoha.

In the end, the legacy of the Akatsuki died out. Their last members had destroyed themselves, and none of their offspring had children. Yumiko allowed her bloodline to die out, trying to respect her parents and keep it a secret. Kabuto was never seen again, and neither was Yumiko.

Many say, correctly, that she died of a broken heart.

**A/N: …It's done…whoo?**


End file.
